


Running

by Dr_Floofers



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cap'n would be disappointed in me, Childhood Abuse, Don't worry, F/M, I am open to suggestions, I couldn't sleep, I don't even know where I'm going with this, I don't know, If I'm going anywhere with it, Lots of bad language, Multi, Other, Sexual Assault, This stuff just came up, just memories of it though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 30,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Floofers/pseuds/Dr_Floofers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You stood up to Loki when he made his first public appearance. You fought him one on one, saving hundreds of lives. When the Avengers showed up to take charge,  you disappeared ever since, running from SHIELD and your past. Finally, SHIELD catches up with you one night, one Tony Stark there to talk you into it. Will you accept your fate? Or is it your destiny?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Midnight Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't sleep. The things that happened in reader's past are all true, except they happened to me. I don't know why it's all coming back, but since I felt angsty and couldn't sleep, I decided to write instead. I don't even know where I'm going with this. I am open to suggestions.

_Hands were on you, sliding under your clothes, fingers reaching inside you. You were frightened, too frightened to respond, it was all happening so fast. He was tall, much taller than you, and had to weigh close to 300 pounds. You had known him for years; hell, you were in the same class with this guy and had been._

  
_You had gone to the school gym's bathroom and he had followed you, slipping off into the darkened locker room adjacent to the bathroom. You had just barely caught a glimpse of him between the cracks in the bathroom stall. You had felt uneasy, and as you went to wash your hands, you called his name, letting him know that you had seen him._

  
_Then, he was behind you, blocking your escape from the sink area, body moving closer until you were backed into the corner of the cement partition. There were other classmates out in the gym. He had you cornered and his hands were on you, touching you and probing inside you as you stood there, too shocked to react for a moment._  
_Then, you threatened him, voice low and choked with fear. He had paused for a second, and that was all the time you had needed to brush by him and run, run as fast as you could, up the stairs and into the main building. It was silent in the halls, and you saw one of your teachers standing there, acting as a hall monitor. End of the year testing was taking place, but as a senior, you didn't have any._

  
_You wanted to run to your teacher, hide yourself in his chest and arms and cry and sob and tell him everything. But you couldn't. Couldn't bring yourself to get him involved in what had just happened; you still weren't sure of everything yourself. Fighting back tears, you hunted down the rest of your female classmates and took shelter with them, ignoring the sappy movie they were fixated on._

  
_Your phone buzzed in your pocket. It was him. He wanted you to come back down, wanted to know where you were. Your stomach twisted, and you blocked him quickly before hurrying to the girls' bathroom, retching as you leaned over one of the toilets. Nothing but dry heaves, your stomach empty since you hadn't had a chance to eat earlier in the day. It took a long while, but finally, you were able to get a hold of your mother._

  
_"I was in a meeting," she excused. "What's wrong?"_

  
_"Nothing," you whispered, voice hoarse with sobs that you wouldn't let escape. "I just need you to come get me. Please. I need to leave."_

~

You sat up quickly in your bed, your sheets twisted and kicked partially off the bed from the nightmares that still came back occasionally to haunt you. You swung your legs over the side of the mattress, hugging your knees to your chest as tears pooled in your eyes. It had been 3 years since that had happened, 2 since you had ran away from your home town without a word, and 1 since you had gone on the dodge, hiding from SHIELD and the rest of the world.

  
Why the memories of what had happened that day, along with other scenarios you had been too ashamed to mention, came back now, you didn't know. Flashes of your childhood came back. Your mother, always gone on business, your father's temper always short. All the times he had hit you, the time he threatened to kill you, another time when he actually tried to run over you in his truck when something you hadn't had anything to do with got his temper flared up.

  
You sobbed into your knees, shoulders shaking. You were hurting, mentally, emotionally. You had been running and hiding from things for so long, flinching past people in the fear that they would lash out at you or take a liking to your body. Or, worse, recognize you.

  
The day Loki had made the crowd of people kneel before him...you had taken a spur of the moment trip to Europe, evading the authorities who were searching for you at your parents' request. You had ended up tangled in the mass of people there in Stuttgart, Germany. You had refused to kneel. There had been an old man there, who refused to submit as well. Loki had killed him, and your temper got the better of you. You took him on, head-to-head, keeping all the civilians around you safe until the Avengers arrived and Captain America took over. But it was too late. Your face had been captured on news camera, on grainy amateur videos shot by cell phones in shaky hands, and now, everyone knew it.

  
You had fled and hopped on the first ship bound for New England. It was the most under-the-radar means of transportation that you could think of. Once there, you had hidden yourself away in New York, then finally Massachusetts, trying to just blend in with the crowds. 

  
SHIELD was looking for you, trying to hunt you down before your powers to manipulate and create electricity from your bare hands, bend existing electricity to your will, grew out of hand. If left uncontained or untrained, you could hurt someone someday, intentionally or not. They wanted to find you, preferably before you became a threat to be neutralized.

You got up from your small bed, stepping over the strewn sheets and comforter. You padded into the kitchen, flicking the light switch and getting yourself a cup of tea ready. The bare bulb glowed dimly, poorly illuminating the dingy little kitchen. You finished getting your tea ready and took a sip, not acknowledging the sound of a throat being cleared behind you.

  
You knew who it was. Despite all your efforts to disappear, to vanish from the face of the earth, they had found you. You knew they would. It had only been a matter of time; your constant moving and incognito status had simply delayed the inevitable.

  
"Why are you here?" You asked, back still turned to the intruder, shaking hands holding the uncomfortably warm mug. You knew the answer to your question already, but felt obligated to ask, if nothing but for mere formality.

  
"You know why I'm here, Miss (Y/N)," came the voice, confident and masculine.

  
"Yes. I do," you stated simply.

  
"Then why are you bothering to ask?"

  
You shrugged your shoulders. "For shits and giggles, I guess? Because I would like to retain what freedom I have for as long as possible?" You took another sip of your tea, letting the scalding sweetness roll down your throat, tears still creeping down your cheeks from the nightmares that hadn't quite faded from your mind.

  
"You know this is for everyone's best interests," the voice continued. "Including yours."

  
"Uh huh," you conceded, not sounding convinced. "That the same bullshit they told you?"

  
"Actually, no. They sort of begged me," he chuckled.

  
You finished your tea in a quick gulp before setting your mug in the sink and turning around, hands resting on the counter as you faced the man who sat at your kitchen table, straddling one of the rickety little chairs. His short brown hair was turned a soft black in the dim light, and his goatee added extra shadow to his face.

  
"I'm sure they did, Mr. Stark," you muttered dryly. "Just tell me what you want already, even though I already know."

  
"Miss (Y/N), in the words of Director Fury of SHIELD," Tony Stark got to his feet before taking a couple of steps towards you, smoothing out the front of his suit. "I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."


	2. The Long Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has convinced you to go with him. While on the drive to Manhattan, he finally persuades you to tell him about yourself. After enough pushing, you give in and tell him everything about your past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly believe that Tony has the ability to be an absolute sweetie when the occasion arises. He just prefers to be an ass most of the time to keep up his tough front. That's my theory anyways. Anywho, yay, you're at the Avengers Tower finally. You'll get to meet everyone later.

You sat in the passenger seat, leaning against the car door and staring at the car's lit up display, one of the only lights available as Tony Stark drove along. You had given up. He had talked you into it. Now the two of you were riding in silence as he headed back to Manhattan.

  
"What were you doing there, (Y/N)?" He asked suddenly, his voice breaking the still air so suddenly that it made your heart jump up into your throat.

  
"Massachusetts? Well, I always heard the scenery was great. Tea parties are supposed to be a blast too," you muttered dryly. "I was actually planning on heading to Vermont, but I was waiting until I found out for certain if they had liquor stores there. I'm sure they do. They have to. Vermont sucks."

  
"Ha ha," Tony scoffed. "Very funny, dear, but you know what I mean. What were you doing in Germany, specifically Stuttgart, when Loki stole the iridium?"

  
"What were the rest of those normal, innocent people doing there?" You shot back, getting a little agitated with all the questions.

  
"Those people are just that: normal. You, on the other hand, are not. No offense." Tony kept his eyes on the road, only glancing over at you every now and then. The random headlights from scattered traffic illuminated your silhouette once and a while. "Just give me some answers, alright?"

  
"I was backpacking around Europe," you lied easily. "A lot of college kids do that."

  
"Except you weren't in college," he countered. "Don't think that I just showed up to get you without doing my research."

  
"Creepy much, Stark?"

  
"No, cautious is my preferred term."

 

You stayed silent for a moment longer, then licked your dry lips. "I was running," you admitted finally.

  
"Running from...?" You could almost picture his eyebrow being cocked up.

  
"Things. My past. Myself. Why the fuck do you care?" You snarled, temper starting to flare up.

  
"Because if you're honest with me, I can help you out. With the other Avengers, the public. I'm very good with public images, you know."

  
"Uh huh, because yours is perfect," you snap.

  
"No, but I can twist and manipulate things to make them work to my advantage. Trust me, kid, I can help you out. You just have to be straightforward with me," he pressed.

  
"Fine. If I tell you, will you shut up?"

  
"Scout's honor." He lifted one hand from the wheel briefly, and you could see his quick grin when an 18 wheeler passed by.

 

"I left home. That's why I was in Germany. Wasn't good for me to stay there any longer," you grumbled, arms crossed tightly.

  
"Care to elaborate, sweetheart?"

  
"My parents, okay? My mom was always gone and my dad treated me like shit. Hell, it wasn't until I was a freshman in high school that I started to realized that the way I was treated wasn't normal," you admitted, tone bitter. "He treated me like shit, always liked my brothers better, always wanted to know why I wasn't more like them. Called me a whore for having guy friends." Tony didn't say a word, but you could tell he was listening. It felt nice to get things off your chest, and you found yourself continuing.

  
"Hell, I remember when I was three...I needed to take a bath and he ran the water for me, but it was fuckin' scalding hot. I cried when I started to get in, but he told me if I didn't shut up and take a bath, he would spank me. So I had to boil in my bath water and wash myself. Shit, man, no fuckin' three year old knows how to do that." Your throat felt tight, and you could feel the tears pricking at your eyelids.

  
"Shit, kid, I'm-" Tony began, but you cut him off.

  
"That's not all," you said. "I-I was sexually harassed a lot in high school. Turned into assault eventually. Some guy forced me to go down on him, another one followed me into the bathroom and cornered me..." Your eyelids squeezed shut and you didn't want to go into any further details. "I didn't tell anyone until that last time. I was always told that women brought it upon themselves. My dad, he made rape jokes all the time and sick shit like that. I -I thought I deserved it," you choked out, your voice a whisper.

  
"(Y/N)," Tony's voice was gentle, and it shocked you to hear him talk like that. "I'm sorry, kid. I'm really, really sorry... I don't know what else to say." He reached out a hand. You saw the shadow of it, the LED lights coming from the car display highlighting his fingers. Slowly, you took his offered hand, and he gave your fingers a comforting squeeze.  
The silence fell once again, settling like a heavy velvet cloak. Mile after mile passed, and you sighed softly, hoping that it wouldn't be too much longer until you arrived. You wanted to get out of the car, to stretch your legs and distract yourself from your whirling mind.

  
"You know," Tony spoke up again. "My dad wasn't...really the nurturing type either. Always ignored me, spent more time with his machines than he did me. Felt like I was just sort of in the way. A pawn for him to use to ply his power or something. Like a dumb little kid would do him much good," he laughed, "but that's the way it felt."

  
"I'm sorry, Tony." This time, you gave his hand a squeeze. You didn't know what else to say. What could you say? "That's why I was in Germany," you admitted finally. "They had people looking for me, wanted to track me down and bring me home. I had some money saved up and I managed to get a flight there. I heard about the gala and was curious, so I went. Never expected to face down a god."

  
"Yeah, but you did. And you did a damn good job of keeping those folks safe until we got there," he praised.

 

"I guess so," you shrugged your shoulders, eyelids starting to feel heavy. You yawned and leaned your head back against the seat. "How much longer...?"

  
"Shouldn't be much, but you can take a nap if you want. I know I interrupted your sleep," Tony laughed. "I'll keep us on the road, don't worry."

  
"Good," you mumbled. "Hate to murder you if I wake up in a ditch."

  
You dozed off to the music that was playing softly on the radio. You hadn't slept very well in the past few nights, and your body happily surrendered to the pull of slumber as you relaxed into the seat.

  
You had been sleeping soundly, your mind free of dreams for once, when a hand touched your shoulder, awakening you.

  
"Up and at 'em, Sleeping Beauty," Tony's voice roused you further from your nap. "We're here." He was in a parking garage, and he helped you out and guided your drowsy self along. He entered an elevator and you sagged against his shoulder, eyelids drooping once again.

  
"JARVIS, to the living spaces, please. Are the others in the common room?" Tony let you lean on him as the elevator began to rise.

  
"Only Mr. Barton, sir," JARVIS answered. "Shall I inform him of your arrival?"

  
"No, don't worry about it. I don't want them all coming out and bugging sleepyhead here. She's had a rough enough night. She can meet everyone later." Tony put an arm around you, steadying you so that you wouldn't slide off his shoulder and hit the floor.

  
The elevator stopped smoothly, the doors opening with a quiet _whoosh_. Tony escorted you down the hall, with your feet barely able to function. He took you to an empty suite, got JARVIS to open the door, then picked you up and carried you over to the bed. He knocked back the covers and tucked you in, pulling the sheets and blanket over you.

  
"Thanks, Tony," you mumbled, moving so that you could nuzzle your face down into the pillow. You were exhausted and this bed...it felt amazing. Much better than anything you had ever slept on before.

  
"Not a problem, sweetheart. If you need anything, just let JARVIS know and he can get me." He patted your head, then headed for the door. "Goodnight, (Y/N)."

  
You didn't answer, though. You were already sound asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, everyone is alive and okay. Kinda an AU. No Civil War, no sad terrible things, Pietro is alive, Bucky is okay (besides the occasional relapse but shit can you blame him?). All my babies are okay and happy and everything is alright. Because I said so.


	3. Not the Way to Start Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You woke up to three of your new team mates gathered around your bed, speculating on who you are and what you're doing there. Tony kicks them out, finds you some fresh clothes, and things seem to be going alright until everyone prods you too much, argues with each other, and makes your already-on-edge nerves go haywire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is your new best friend in this one. Dear Author won't be making an appearance in this story (sorry. Or is that a good thing? Probably is, I'm annoying). Don't worry, everything will smooth over. Eventually.

"Who the hell is this?"

  
"I don't know, man, but I heard Tony bringing someone in last night. Figured it would be safer to wait til the morning to check things out. I didn't want to walk in on them getting it on."

  
"Ha, don't blame you for that."

  
There were voices above you, pulling you from your sleep. You waited to open your eyes though, pretending you couldn't hear a thing as you shifted slowly, feigning slumber as you stretched just a bit. The sheets twisted and were pulled down lower on your body.

  
"Oh shit, I think she is one of Tony's lady friends. She isn't naked for just shits and giggles."

  
Naked? You sat up, yanking the sheets to your chest and kicking out at the men who were at your bedside. You kicked at them over and over again. "Get the fuck away from me!" You screeched. "I don't even know you bastards!"

  
Footsteps sounded down the hall and the door was flung open. Tony took a quick look at what was going on and then strode over towards your bed, whirling on the three men who had been leaning over you.

  
"Sam, Pietro, Clint! What the hell are you doing in here?" He crossed his arms, not looking at all intimidated by the fact that they were all taller than him.

  
"I told the boys about the lady friend you brought home last night," the man with the dirty blond hair shrugged casually. "We got a little curious."

  
"So you decided to prowl into the poor girl's room and harass her?" Stark's voice was poison, his tone cold and low.

  
"We figured we ought to check on her and see how she was holding up, especially if you were the one she slept with last night," another man interjected. You began to recognize his face... Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon.

 

"I didn't sleep with her," Tony growled.

  
"She certainly looks naked to me," the young man with the platinum blond hair added in. That would be Pietro Maximoff.

  
"Just shut up!" You yelled. "I do that in my sleep sometimes, okay? I certainly didn't sleep with anybody, so you three can just go to hell!"

  
"Uh huh, and I'm actually Legolas," the other man chuckled. Clint Barton. Hawkeye. You definitely knew him.

  
"Get the fuck out of here before I turn the three of you into ash," Tony threatened.

  
"Alright, alright," Clint held his hands up in surrender. "We're going... Geez, never thought I would see you get so worked up over a girl, Stark." The three men left your room, shutting the door behind them.

  
Tony sighed and glanced down at you. "I'm sorry about them. No one in this tower has any manners."

  
"I'm surprised to hear that coming from someone like you," you snuggled the blankets closer to your bare chest.

  
"Hang on, let me see if I can't find you something to wear..." He stood up and went to the door. "JARVIS, get Agent Romanov in here, would you?"

  
"Yes, sir, Mr. Stark," the AI answered. In just a few moments, there was a knock on your door, and you heard Tony answer it, conversing quickly with whoever was there. You sat on the edge of your bed, wrapping one of the blankets around your body. This was just great...your first day at the Avengers Tower, and three of the team members had seen you naked. Well, halfway naked. You sat in silence, staring at the blank wall. Tony came back after a while, offering you a bundle of clothes.

  
"Here. Natasha is going to loan you some of her clothes until you can get your own."

  
"Thanks. Now, can you please get out so I can get dressed?" You took the clothes, not wanting to look up at him.

  
"Sure thing, kid." He headed towards the door. "I'll let the others know you're here, and I'll try to make them behave. It'll be difficult for most of them, I'm sure." He left the room and you got up, putting on your bra and then the clothes Natasha had given Tony.

  
You scowled, pissed at yourself for having such a weird habit. Why you took off your clothes sometimes during the night, you never knew. You figured it was because you got too warm in your sleep sometimes or because you wanted to be comfortable, but you still weren't 100 percent sure. You finished getting dressed, tried to make your hair look presentable, then left your room and padded quietly down the hall.

 

"Whoa, careful!" A pair of hands caught your shoulders as you ran face first into a human wall. You had been so distracted with your own thoughts and trying to make yourself wake up that you hadn't paid attention. Friendly blue eyes framed with golden lashes looked down at you. It was Steve Rogers. Of course you had managed to plow into Steve Rogers.

  
"Oh. Sorry," you apologized, ducking your head and trying to skirt around him.

  
"It's alright." He fell in beside you. Damn. "I assume you must be (Y/N) (L/N)? Tony told everyone that you were here this morning."

  
"Yep, that's me," you affirmed. You still didn't feel much like talking, but Steve certainly seemed to be a morning person. Much to your chagrin...

  
"Hey, there's that ray of sunshine that nearly ruptured my balls this morning!" Clint called out as you rounded the corner into the kitchen with Steve.

  
"I should've ripped them off," you growled, still not quite ready to forgive him for sneaking into your room and being creepy.

  
"Oh, someone's got an attitude," Sam Wilson laughed. He leaned against the counter with a cup of coffee.

  
"Go to hell," you snapped as you got your own coffee, bumping him out of the way with your shoulder.

 

"You boys should leave her alone," a young woman's voice chided. You looked up, recognizing the dark haired lady as Wanda Maximoff; Scarlet Witch. "She had quite a trip to get here, you know."

  
"Plus, if you don't leave her alone, I will get my suit out and throw all of you out the window," Tony warned as he ushered you to a chair and put a plate of pancakes, bacon, and biscuits in front of you. "Here. Before our 'super' soldiers eat everything."

  
"You callin' me fat, Stark?" A low, gravelly voice spoke up, and you glanced over to see who it belonged to. A man with brown hair caught up in a bun, and a metal arm. Bucky Barnes.

  
"No, I am merely implying it, Tin Can." Tony got his own coffee, taking a moment to add in a shot of whiskey.

  
"You really shouldn't be drinking this early," a quieter male voice scolded. It belonged to Doctor Bruce Banner. He offered you a smile as he got his own coffee. "Nice to meet you finally, (Y/N)."

  
"Uh huh," you mumbled around a mouthful of pancakes.

 

"Our new friend doesn't seem to like to talk much," Natasha eyed you, sizing you up, looking for any perceivable weakness. You met her gaze with a glare.

  
"Not to you bunch anyways," you snarled out, feeling your temper get on edge.

  
"She's mad because we saw her naked this morning and thought she was one of Mr. Stark's ladies of the night," Pietro chimed in.

  
"Pietro! What were you doing in her room?!" Wanda turned on her brother, smacking him on the arm.

  
"Hey, it was the old man's idea!" He pointed at Clint who merely shrugged.

  
"What? Can't blame a man for being curious. Also," he added, "I am not old. Punk ass kid..."

  
The bickering continued, and you could feel your nerves wearing then. When a heavy hand belonging to a certain demigod clapped you on the shoulder, a loud voice bidding you a thunderous good morning, you got to your feet, your hands slamming down on the table.

  
"Alright, that's it!" You temper flared and the lights overhead blazed brightly for a split second before the glass suddenly exploded, sending the entire room into darkness. You took off at a dead run, bypassing the elevator since you knew it wouldn't work, and going straight for the emergency stairs.

 

"Dammit, guys!" Tony swore as he grabbed for his phone when it started blaring out the first verse from "Immigrant Song". "Hello? Yeah, Fury, I know- wait, what?! The entire tower is out of power? Shit, I gotta go!" He hung up and took off down the hall, knowing his way by memory.

  
"What the hell happened?" Bucky blundered around the kitchen, yelping when he stubbed his toe into a chair.

  
"I think we pissed off Stark's girlfriend," Sam spoke up, trying to find his way out of the dark room.

  
  
You made it out of the tower by way of the emergency exit, and took off down the sidewalk. Thunder growled over head and you glanced up, your heart thudding faster. Rain was pelting down, coming harder and harder as you ran. Where had this storm come from? There hadn't been a cloud in the sky, but now...

  
Fear gripped at you and spurred you on, your legs stretching out further and further. You had done this. You created the storm somehow... Your powers were getting stronger, and you became even more frightened. You didn't know how to control it, how to keep it from getting out of hand. Street lights surged brightly and then shattered as you ran past them, plunging the sidewalk into even more darkness as the storm clouds pressed tightly together.

  
You paused, realizing that you had ran blindly into an alley. There were footsteps behind you, and you could hear someone calling your name. It sounded like...shit, Captain America was the last person you wanted to see. In fact, you didn't want to see any of the Avengers. You wanted far away. Agreeing to come here, agreeing to join, this had all been a mistake.

  
Studying the building behind you, you began finding little chinks and holes; perfect places to hold on to. While you weren't Spider-Man, you had some other hobbies that came in handy: free running and free climbing. Without a moment of hesitation, you began scaling up the side of the rough brick wall, moving closer and closer to the roof.

  
"(Y/N)! Where the hell is she, I thought she ran in here!" There were voices below you, but you didn't look down. You just kept climbing.

  
"Look! Up there!" Steve's voice rang out from the ground. "(Y/N)! Get down! You're going to get hurt! It's too slippery to be doing that!" The thunder roared, drowning out most of his words.

  
You ignored him and kept going, until you managed to scramble up onto the roof. The lightning wouldn't hurt you; it didn't worry you as the bolts struck nearby, electricity surging through your veins. You could control it, you realized. This storm was just a potential tool for you. You huddled up against a corner of the roof, hugging your knees and staying quiet as the Avengers called for you from below.

 

The roof shook under you, and you got to your feet, glaring at Thor who had landed not far from you.

  
"Lady (Y/N)," he spoke gently. "Please come down before you fall and hurt yourself."

  
"Piss off!" You snapped back, a ball of sparks flying from your fingertips. He barely managed to dodge it, your sudden attack taking him by surprise.

  
"(Y/N!)" There was another voice and you glanced to the side. Iron Man hovered by the edge of the roof. He landed when he saw he had your attention, and his visor came up from his face. Tony held his hands out, showing he meant no harm. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get down from here, okay? I'm sorry they wouldn't leave you alone. But you need to come down. Alright?"

  
His voice was calm and soothing; strange for a man with a reputation like his, but you found your lower lip starting to quiver as tears built up in your eyes. You glanced up at the storm, then looked back at him as the tears started to spill over onto your face, mingling with the rain.

  
"Look what I did, Tony..." You whispered, shivering as the cold of the rain started to set in, the adrenaline wearing off. "I did this...I didn't mean to. I don't even know how I did it. I'm a shit head..." You lowered your head, and then he was beside you, the metal arms of his suit coming around you in a hug.

  
"No, no you're not. You just got scared, that's all," he whispered comfortingly.

  
"I must admit, this isn't something you see everyday," Sam's voice was close and when you looked, he was on the roof beside Thor, in full Falcon costume.

"Wilson, I swear to God, if you make one more shitty comment and upset this young lady further," Tony warned, point a finger at him, "I will blast your bird-brained ass of this roof. Leave. Her. Alone."

  
"Ooh, does someone have a crush?" Clint's voice called from the ground.

  
"No!" Tony yelled. "I just happen to know that this girl is scared out of her pants and you idiots aren't doing anything to help her settle in!" He scooped you up onto his waist, one arm wrapping around you. "Come on. I'm taking you back to the Tower. We can get you dried off and warm and then try to figure out how you did this. Also, you knocked out every bit of power in the Tower."

  
"I did...?" You groaned and then let your face fall onto his armored shoulder. "I'm sorry..."

  
"It's alright," Tony hushed you, patting your head with his free hand. "I got it back up before I came to find you." He engaged his thrusters, lifting off the roof. The rain had slowed to a drizzle. "See? You didn't make too much of a mess. It's fine. Avengers, head back to the Tower! I'll yell at all of you later!"

  
Sam flew Thor down from the roof, and the group of heroes began making their way back to the Tower as quickly as possible to avoid any crowds or media. Tony flew you straight to balcony where his office was and settled you in front of the fireplace. A quick word to JARVIS, and there was a fire roaring.

  
You sat there in front of it, a blanket around your shoulders as you stared into the flames. So far, your first day with the Avengers hadn't gone nearly as well as you had hoped. Sensing your disappointment, Tony came over and sat down beside you.

  
"It's alright, kid. You didn't do any damage. Well, not much anyways." He patted your shoulder.

  
"Yeah. Right." You didn't look at him.

  
"Don't worry, we'll figure this out and get everything smoothed over. You'll be ready to kick some ass with us in no time."

  
You glanced over at him, finding it hard not to smile when he gave you that broad grin of his. "You really think so?"

  
He nodded. "I really think so."


	4. Friend of the Widow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You attempt (and fail) to make breakfast for everyone in an effort to make things up to them. After taking out your frustrations on the poor toaster, you head to the firing range. You keep missing your target and are about ready to go on a rampage, when a certain assassin takes it upon herself to help you hit your mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor toaster...what did it do to you? You bitch.
> 
> Also, any suggestions on who I should smash reader with? I'm open to suggestions.

For the next couple of weeks the Avengers all tip toed around you, trying to be careful to not set you off. Natasha had said a couple of harsh words to you at first, but when the lights began flickering and a low growl of thunder was heard from a distance, she had dropped the subject rather quickly. Your powers were still unrestrained for the most part, but as long as no one got you stressed out, you could keep things under control.

  
One morning, some of the team shuffled into the kitchen, investigating the swearing and yelling that was coming from it. They watched as you held your hand under the running water before glaring at the toaster. It made a strange electrical noise and then exploded. You turned around to look at the group of Avengers, all in varied states of undress.

  
"(Y/N)?" Tony spoke up first, since he seemed to be able to handle you better than the others could. "What, uh...whatcha doing?"

  
"I was trying to make breakfast for everyone," you growled, still trying to soothe your burnt hand. "The toaster ruined every piece of bread I tried to toast, and then the damn skillet popped grease all over my hand." You turned off the water as Bruce wordlessly shuffled forwards, holding out his hand so he could examine the damage that had been done to your skin.

  
"Breakfast?" Clint questioned, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "You don't even like us, why were you going to cook for us? Unless you were planning to poison everyone."

  
"Dammit, Barton," you snapped, struggling to keep your temper in check. "I was trying to be nice and apologize for being an asshole, but since nothing is working out and you're getting on my nerves, I'm going to keep on being a bitch!" You yanked your hand away from Bruce and stalked towards the group.

  
They parted quickly, letting you pass unhindered as your body crackled with sparks, electricity stirring the air around you. You headed straight for the shooting range where Clint liked to practice with his bow. Not that he needed the practice, of course. You knew he just liked to show off whenever other people were there to work on their gun handling skills.

 

You stood with feet shoulder width apart, rolling your neck side to side to limber up a bit. You eyed one of the humanoid shaped targets and let a blast of sparks fly towards it. It missed your mark and hit the wall instead.

  
"Dammit!" You swore in frustration. You still weren't very good at hitting things yet, since you were usually extremely angry when your abilities started to kick in. You wanted to work on it though, wanted to get things under control. Especially your temper. You tried to concentrate, but when you fired another blast from your fingertips, it missed once again.

  
"Fuck!" You spun around, letting your balled up fist connect with the wall. "Why can't I hit anything?!" You groaned and slouched against the wall, sliding down it until you were sitting on the floor. Pulling your knees up against your chest, you sat like that for quite some time, just hugging your legs and chastising yourself for being a failure.

  
The footsteps that approached you went unheard until the person was almost right on top of you. Your head jerked up, and you were met by the green-eyed gaze of a certain red headed assassin.

  
"Can I help you?" You muttered, looking away quickly.

  
"No," she stated plainly. "But maybe I can help you. Come on, stand back up." She offered you a hand and you stared at it.

  
"I might accidentally electrocute you, though," you murmured hesitantly.

  
"Do you want to do that?"

  
You thought for a moment, then shook your head. "No. I don't."

  
"Then it'll be fine," she smiled at you, and you slowly took her hand. She hauled you up to your feet. "Let's try to hit that target again. Stay calm this time. You control your actions, not the other way around. Keep a level head, focus on what you want to hit, and your mind guide your body. Trust your instincts."

 

You nodded and slowly resumed your stance. You took a deep breath, lifted your hand, and let another blast of crackling energy fly. It made a black mark on the wall as it sailed past the target, and you felt your temper starting to rise.

  
"(Y/N), calm down," Natasha reminded you. "Remember when you fought Loki? You kept all those people safe until we could get there. What did you think about? What made you hit your target?"

  
"I-I wanted to keep them safe," you answered, inhaling deeply, holding the breath in, and then letting it slowly back out.

  
"Try to draw on that feeling again," she advised. "Don't get upset if you miss. That helps you know how to change your aim."

  
Eyes shutting, you thought back to that fateful day in Germany, the crowd panicking all around you, getting on their knees as Loki stood before everyone. Fearful gazes turning towards you when you refused to kneel. Then, almost hope when you dodged Loki's first attack and retaliated with the sparks that knocked him backwards.

  
You opened your eyes, looked at the target standing there in front of you, lifted your hand once again... There was a loud crackling and sparking sound, and the target was reduced to a pile of charred ash. A grin broke across your face for the first time in what seemed like forever, and you turned to look at Natasha, excitement on your features.

  
"I did it!" You exclaimed. "I hit it!"

  
"See?" She smiled. "I told you. Let's try a few more targets, then we can see about getting some breakfast. Steve ended up making pancakes, but they ate them all before I could snag one."  
"I-I would...like that," you admitted with a bashful shrug.

  
"Come on then." Natasha pointed down the range. "Get ten more hits and then I'll take you out to one of the cafes that I sneak off to when I can."

  
You smiled at her and began working on getting rid of the next targets. Maybe Natasha wasn't so bad after all...


	5. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony drags you out of the Tower and insists on buying you things. Lunch at Panera and an insult battle ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do they have Panera in New York? I'm pretty sure they do. Damned if I know. But I want Panera now... *cries*

It had been a few days since Natasha had helped you get your training off to a good start. Her camaraderie had helped you become more comfortable around the others, even if you still weren't too sure about Clint, Sam, or Pietro yet. You knew Tony's reputation as a womanizer, so you could understand why they had assumed you were a fling of his too, but you weren't ready to forgive them. Not just yet at least.

  
Bruce Banner had managed to convince you to spend time in his lab. He wanted to try and get some idea as to how your body worked, what allowed you to control and create electricity with such ease. So far, he hadn't come up with much to show for his work, but the two of you found it easy to spend time together. Neither of you minded a good bout of silence, or sometimes just a nice, quiet, intelligent conversation.

  
Tony took you shopping, ignoring all your protests. It was for your own good, he announced before dragging you away from the safety of the tower. He let you pick out furniture and decor for your apartment. When you commented quietly on something that you liked, but later picked out something else because it was cheaper, Tony told the salesperson to ignore you and would instead get whatever it was that you liked.

  
You tried to protest, but he merely waved you off, and once apartment shopping was finished, he drug you off to the mall to "update your wardrobe", he claimed. You'd never gone shopping with a guy before, at least, not with a guy who merely wanted to complain about every single store.

  
It turned out that he had wonderful fashion taste, and you supposed that made sense. It wouldn't do to be a world-renowned billionaire and look shabby, especially not with the kind of contacts that he had.

  
"Give me a little spin, (Y/N)," Tony instructed as he stood against the wall of the dressing room area, watching as you emerged from one of the rooms.

  
"This is stupid," you grumbled, but you twirled around like he told you to, showing off every angle. You were currently in a pants suit, because Tony insisted that you would need formal things to wear eventually once your introduction as an Avenger was made official to the world.

  
"I like it," he nodded in approval. "Try that skirt suit on now. Let me see those sexy legs of yours." He winked at you playfully, and you flipped him off with a smile.

  
"Don't you have a girlfriend, Stark?" You asked as you shut the door and began to change.

  
  
It was silent for a moment, and you began to get a little worried. Was Tony still there? Had you said something wrong? Was this just his idea of a prank? Did he leave you in the store by yourself?  
"Tony?" You called out.

  
"I heard you, sweetheart," he answered finally, but his voice wasn't as perky as it had been. "I assume you're referring to Pepper. We...well, we're kind of taking a break." You could tell he didn't want to divulge into more details, so you emerged in the skirt suit to provide a distraction.

  
"What do you think?" You glanced down at yourself, smoothing down the front of the suit jacket with your palms.

  
"You look great, hon," he smiled at you. "Come on, let's get this stuff paid for and blow this Popsicle stand. All this catwalk worthy fashion is making me hungry."

  
"Tony, you know I can't afford to get all of this," you told him as you got undressed to change into your own clothes. "I'll get a couple of favorites-"

  
"You can't afford it," he said pointedly as he gathered up every bit of clothing that you had liked, "but I can."

  
"Tony! Hey! Stop buying me things!"

  
"What was that? I can't hear you over the sound of me doing whatever the fuck I want to!" He glanced back at you and winked. "You might consider putting on your clothes before following me out of here, sweetie. I wouldn't mind being featured on some tabloid about getting frisky in a dressing room, but I don't want your public image getting ruined so soon."

 

"Ugh, you smug bastard!" You gave up and quickly pulled on your jean shorts and t shirt, some of the clothes Natasha had let you borrow. You planned on washing them and giving them back later. You slid your feet into your tennis shoes and jogged off to catch up with Tony.

  
He glanced at you with a cocky smirk right as he finished paying for your clothes and returned his card to his wallet. He took the bags from the saleswoman, winked at her too, then headed out of the store with you tagging along at his heels.

  
"Tony, you know it's gonna be hard for me to pay you back," you muttered to him.

  
"(Y/N), if you don't stop it with this being indebted to me bullshit, I will throw you straight into a dumpster," he warned. "I'm doing this because I can, because I want to. God knows that someone needs to spoil you."

  
"I-" You started to protest again, but with a sigh, you finally relented. "Fine. But I'll find some other way to even the score."

  
"Get Capsicle laid," he laughed. "I've been trying and trying to set him up with a girl. He has several decades' worth of tension all built up and he needs to get rid of it or he might just pop."

  
"Tony, I don't think I can perform miracles," you grinned.

  
"OOOH! That was low, darling," he cackled with glee before pulling you close to him all of a sudden, his hand holding yours. "Don't make eye contact, alright?"

  
You were confused, but when you took a quick glance around, you saw a group of greasy looking guys standing together. You could practically smell the pheromones. Or was that the plethora of AXE body spray...? They were eyeing you and your bare legs. It made your stomach churn in a most unpleasant way.

  
"(Y/N), just ignore them," Tony instructed in a low whisper as he continued to guide you through the crowd.

  
"Kinda hard when they're getting all eye rapey," you grumbled back.

  
"Don't worry about it. Just come on." He pulled you into a jog, leading you towards the exit. Soon enough, you were running across the parking lot, racing towards his car and trying to beat him there.

 

"I win!" You grabbed the car door handle, chest rising and falling quickly. You grinned at Tony and he stuck out his tongue at you before unlocking the doors. He popped the trunk, tossed in the bags while you got in, and then he plopped into the driver's seat.

  
"I'm feeling Panera today," he announced. "What about you?"

  
"That works for me," you shrugged then turned on the radio after he cranked the car. You had convinced him to allow you to buy yourself a couple of things, one of which was Avenged Sevenfold's Hail to the King album. You turned up the volume and rolled down your window, grinning and leaning your head back against the seat as the music began to swell through the speakers.

  
"We need to go on a road trip," Tony called over the music. "That would be kickass, because from what I hear so far, you have a pretty good taste in musical artists."

  
"Of course I do," you answered. "Classic rock is great and all, but it doesn't hurt to go with newer stuff, although these guys actually started back in the 90's."

  
He maneuvered his way through traffic, his driving barely legal. It was just enough to keep from getting pulled over, but you doubted anyone would actually give tickets to someone like Tony Stark. Or any Avenger for that matter.

  
Several minutes later, you were sitting in Panera with a bowl of chicken tortellini alfredo, your iced green tea in front of you while Tony worked on his potato soup and turkey flatbread sandwich.

  
"Are those cranberries in that?" You asked around a mouthful of baguette.

  
He nodded, "Yep. They're good for you."

  
"That's fuckin' gross," you swallowed your bite, washing it down with a swig of your tea.

  
"You're gross," Tony countered, sticking his tongue out at you.

  
"Oh, look at Tony Stark, he's so mature," you shot back and blew your own raspberry at him.

  
"Think fast!" He leaned over, smacking you on the nose with his partially eaten baguette. "That's what happens when dogs act bad, and you're being a bitch."

  
"Hey!" You threw a sauce-covered tortellini shell at him, getting a direct hit right between his eyes. "I hope you're not allergic to nuts, cause I'm about to kick yours up into your throat!"

  
Tony looked down at the pasta shell that had fallen on his plate, then shrugged and ate it. He grinned at you, "We should do this more often."

  
"What have food fights?"

  
He nodded, "Yeah, this is fun."

  
"Ha, in your dreams, Stark," you giggled before finishing the last of your food. You threw your trash away, asking Tony if he wanted to join his people in the garbage can, then the two of you went back to his car and headed to the Tower. You had some laundry to do...


	6. Night Terrors and Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up after another nightmare and decide to distract yourself with tea. You're not alone, however, and a certain super soldier who struggles with his own nightmares takes it upon himself to comfort you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo much fluff... Fluffy Bucky is the best Bucky. I love Bucky. Damn...

_He had you cornered again, body pressing yours against the wall. You fought and kicked, lashing out and struggling to get away, but you couldn't. It wasn't working. He was strong, too strong for you to fight. His hands were on you, all over your body. A scream ripped its way from your throat._

  
You sat up in your bed, chest heaving and a cold sweat on your body. The covers had been strewn all over the floor, and you choked back a sob as you hugged your legs, that familiar feeling of terror settling over you.

  
"It was just a dream," you whispered to yourself, shutting your eyes and gently rocking yourself. "Just a dream...you're safe here in the Tower..." Tears still ran down your face, and you tried not to hyperventilate.

  
Slowly, you got up from your bed, stepped over the tangled mess of covers, and tiptoed out of your apartment. The halls of the Avengers Tower were silent, with only the lights of surveillance cameras blinking intermittently. Your feet carried you quietly to the common room, and you went into the kitchen, digging around in the cabinets until you found the tea bags.

  
Filling up a kettle with water, you turned on a burner on the stove and let the water begin to heat up. You needed something to distract you from the remnants of your nightmares. You weren't certain if you could manage to go back to sleep anyways.

  
You leaned against the counter, staring silently at the white tile floors with their marbling of blues and flecks of gray. The couch in the common room creaked, and you nearly jumped out of your skin as you whirled around, only to see James Buchanan Barnes sitting there, a book in hand.

 

"Jesus, man, how long have you been there?" You put a hand over your chest, trying to still your thumping heart.

  
"Been here for a couple of hours now, doll." He glanced up from his book, a few strands of hair escaping from the bun he had it pulled back in. "What's gotcha all jumpy?"

  
"It's nothing," you muttered, turning your back on him again as the kettle started to whistle. You turned off the burner and poured boiling water over the teabag in your mug.

  
"You might get away with lying to Stark, doll," came the drawl from the deep voice behind you, "but I'm a little better at detecting them than he is."

  
"Just some bad dreams, alright?" You snapped as you left your tea alone to steep. You stood in the doorway, arms folded across your chest as you glared at the usually quiet super soldier. "Why the hell do you even want to know?"

  
"Curious, that's all." He shrugged, marking his spot in his book before setting it down. "Want to talk about it? Sometimes it helps you work through it."

  
"Oh, like you would know?" You growled without thinking. You instantly realized your mistake.

  
"I would," he simply nodded with a wry grin.

  
"I-I'm sorry, Buck," you muttered, your tone softer as you lowered your head. "That was stupid of me to say...you should know better than anyone." You returned to your mug and threw away the tea bag and finished making your tea.

  
"Just come on and sit down," Bucky urged, not moving from his spot on the couch. "Steve helped me through a lot of rough nights. It makes it a little easier when you have someone with you."

  
"A-alright," you relented as you picked up your mug and padded over to Bucky. He patted the spot beside him and you sat down, clutching your mug in both hands. There was a moment of silence.

  
"So...you wanna get it off your chest?" Blue eyes were watching your face, the look in them strangely warm for someone who had been previously responsible for so much chaos.

  
"Well, it's the same thing that I always dream about," you started and then took a sip of your tea. "It's been a few years since it happened, but when I was still in school, there was this guy..."

 

You found yourself opening up to Bucky easily, letting every detail spill out. When that story was over, you didn't stop. You kept on going, telling him about your troubled childhood, the times you feared for your life at the hands of your own father. Tears were flowing freely down your face, but you didn't even move to wipe them away.

  
By the time you had gotten everything out, you were sobbing silently, pulling your legs closer to your body, your fingers wrapped around your mug in a death grip. What was left of your tea had gone cold, and Bucky gently pried the cup away from you and set it down on the coffee table.

  
His arms wrapped around you and he pulled you close against his chest, stroking your hair and rocking you gently. He didn't try to keep you from crying, he just let you empty your tears against his black tank top. Finally, you had cried yourself dry. You snuffled against his chest, your nose all stuffy and your head aching.

  
"S-sorry," you mumbled. "I got snot on your shirt."

  
"It's fine," Bucky chuckled, his chest rumbling under you. He reached out one arm and snagged a couple of tissues from the coffee table, offering them to you. You accepted them and blew your nose and dried your face.

"Why don't we just stay here for the rest of the night?" Bucky offered.

  
You nodded and yawned, feeling sleepy from all the crying you had done. "Alright...if you don't mind."

  
Bucky grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, draping it over the both of you as he settled himself down on the couch. You snuggled into his chest, draped over his body. He kissed your forehead and smoothed your hair back from your face, stroking your back gently.

  
"Go to sleep, doll," he whispered against your hair. "I'll strangle anyone that tries to hurt you. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

  
You shut your eyes, a little smile on your lips as he rubbed your back until you drifted off.


	7. Who? What? Where? When? Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're caught red-handed in the act of snuggling with Bucky. Questions ensue, and so does a yelling match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. But I did a thing!

"Shh!" A voice hissed. "You're gonna wake them up."

  
You shifted in your sleep, the whispering starting to bring you out of your slumber. Were there people in your room again? Why couldn't people stay out of your bedroom? You felt your bed move under you, then felt the arms around your waist tighten.

  
Oh. Right.

  
You weren't in your room. You were in the common room, asleep on the couch with Bucky. The memories came back to you, but you weren't quite ready to make yourself leave the super soldier's warm embrace. Seriously, the man was like a portable space heater. It was amazing.

  
"Sam, what the hell are you and Barton doing?" Tony's voice was louder, and you heard his footsteps approaching. "I swear, if you're- What the hell?! Barnes, what the shit?" A hand yanked away the blanket that was draped over you, and you whined at the loss of its weight.

  
"Stark, what the fuck are you yelling about this early in the morning?" Bucky's voice was gravel-like, remnants of sleep still clinging on.

  
"You have your filthy little mitts all over my precious sunflower, that's what!" Another pair of hands was on you, pulling you away from Bucky.

  
"Tonyyy," you whined, eyes still shut. You didn't let your legs support your weight, simply letting yourself sag into the floor until Tony gave up and let you drop. You curled up into a ball, pulling the blanket back over yourself and hiding from the lights overhead.

  
"Dammit, you freezer-burned shit sack, I thought I could trust you!"

  
"What the hell are you even on about?" Bucky's voice was raising, his temper starting to flare at the accusations that still didn't make any sense to him.

  
"You're corrupting my sweet summer child!" Tony screeched.

  
"Come on, guys," you heard Natasha groan. "Stop yelling or I will murder all of you myself."

  
"Yes, please stop," Wanda's softer voice chimed in.

  
"No!" Bucky and Tony shouted in unison.

  
"WHY ARE WE YELLING?" Pietro yelled.

  
"I DON'T KNOW!" Bucky screamed back.

  
Your hand shot up from the blanket bundle and with a clench of your fist, the light bulbs shattered, sending the room into darkness once again.

"Shut up," you grumbled, snuggling down into your blanket ball once again and trying to go back to sleep. "We were just sleeping together..."

  
"Oh my God, you slept with her?" Tony's voice rose sharply, and you wished you were able to see in the dark, because you would have kicked him.

  
"Not like that, Tony!" Bucky snarled at him. "Jesus, she's a grown woman, anyways! If she wants to ride my cock like a cowboy trying to win the National Bull Riding competition, then she can! Stop trying to manage her!"

  
"Language, Buck," came Steve's voice from the doorway. You felt your cheeks blazing at Bucky's analogy. Was he being serious...? If so, that was a scenario you could live with.

  
"Can we please just focus on getting new lights up?" Bruce questioned as he felt his way carefully to the kitchen. The coffee pot would still work at least, since you hadn't blown any fuses in the breaker, just blown up the lights.

  
"How about we let me decide what I can and can't do?" You grumbled from your nest of blanket. "And stop screaming. Some of us didn't get much sleep."

  
"Whoo, I knew it!" Clint cheered. There was a sharp smacking sound. "Hey!" He yelped.

  
"Can it, Barton," Natasha ordered.

After a few silent minutes of darkness and stumbling around blindly, the lights were replaced and the room was illuminated once again. You got to your feet, blanket wrapped around you like a Jedi's robe. You looked at Tony.

  
"I know you're just trying to look out for me, Tony, and I appreciate it," you started. "But I can still take care of myself. I had more nightmares last night and Bucky helped me get through them, that's all. Everything is fine."

  
"I bet I know how he helped her get through them," Sam chuckled under his breath.

  
_Whack!_

  
"Natasha!" He yipped. "That hurt!"

  
"You hush up too, fly boy."

  
"(Y/N)..." Tony hung his head and sighed. "I'm sorry. I overreacted, I just...I want you to be okay. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. I promised that I'd take care of you, and I meant it."

  
"Thanks, Tony." You gave his arm a squeeze, then yawned. "I'm going back to bed," you mumbled, then began shuffling down the hall in your makeshift Jedi robe.

 

"So..." Clint sidled over to where Bucky stood. "Did you get to hit that?"

  
_Smack!_

  
"Nat!!"


	8. Surprise Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally going well between you and the rest of the team. You've become accepted into the group and have made pretty good friends with everyone. One afternoon, however, Thor arrives with someone who remembers you rather vividly, and he isn't too thrilled to see you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yay, looky! Reader is making friends with everyone and everything is going great! Wow, I bet nothing is going to happen to mess this up- SURPRISE BITCH! This is me writing this. I always mess things up. *evil laugh*

Slowly, but surely, you began warming up to the other Avengers. Steve was patient and always willing to let you talk to him about things, or to vent. You knew he wouldn't lie to you, and he wouldn't blab what you said to him. Natasha was always up for helping you with your training if you wanted her assistance, but otherwise, it was great to have another woman around. Wanda was lovely as well, always kind and quiet. She offered to help you work past your nightmares, or at least quiet them for a few nights, but you politely refused. You wanted to be strong for yourself.

  
The nights you couldn't be strong, however, you went to Bucky. He had made a habit of being in the common room at 2 and 3 every morning, simply reading a book and waiting to see if you would show up. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he had began setting his alarm so that he could wake up and go to the common room just in case you needed him. You found yourself going more and more often, even if you didn't have a bad night. He wouldn't push you for details, he would simply let you talk if you wanted, or would just let you sit there in silence.

  
Sometimes, he would even read his book out loud to you, or if it was a book that you were familiar with, he would discuss it with you. You never would have guessed him to be the kind of guy who loved to read, but it wasn't the first time you'd been surprised since moving into the Tower. Other nights, he would find a jigsaw puzzle for the two of you to work on, but it usually just ended with you both griping about the damn tiny pieces and tossing it back into the game closet.

  
Bruce was wonderfully intelligent, and if there was something you wanted to know, you could usually get an answer from him. Bruce had talked you into letting him try a couple of tests in an effort to further explore your abilities and your control of electricity, but so far, he still hadn't made much head way. It fascinated him, though, and he would take a break from his work at times to watch you practice.

  
Pietro, Sam, and Clint eventually apologized for the way they had acted when they had first met you, and you couldn't help but like the three boys. Sam was easy-going, and you thought it was cute the way he aspired to be like Steve. Pietro had a certain boyish enthusiasm to him, and he was always ready to give Clint a hard time. Clint, you discovered, could be very fun. He soon became your partner in crime in a number of pranks around the Tower, and he showed you all the routes in the air vents, in case you ever needed to escape before you were caught switching out the coffee in Bruce's mug for soy sauce.

  
Tony remained protective, acting like the father figure you'd never had. He even reined in his desire to throttle Bucky when he saw him get a little too touchy with you, if not for the simple knowledge that Bucky could rip out his trachea with one hand if he so wished. It made Tony proud, seeing you get more comfortable with the team. You were finally settling in and becoming part of the family.

  
Thor thought you were pretty wonderful, and when you were finally able to go on a few missions with them, he got you to help him pack an extra punch with Mjolnir by charging it with a good bolt of lightning or two. He would even share his food with you if you asked, which was a rare enough feat on its own.

  
One sunny afternoon, while you and the rest of the team were piled in the common room, you, Clint, Tony, and Sam going head to head in Mario Kart, a sudden gathering of clouds quelled the sunlight that had been filtering in through the blinds.

  
"Oh, I think Thunder Thighs is back," Tony announced, not looking away from the screen. "Shit!" He scowled as he fell right off Rainbow Road. "I hate this map, why are we doing this one?"

  
"Because you lost Rock, Paper, Scissors and I got to pick," you shrugged. "And I know you always crash on this road." You grinned.

  
It wasn't long before you heard Thor's heavy footsteps, and figured that he had landed on the roof and entered the building that way. There was another set of steps though, softer and stealthy. You paused the game and sat up, turning to see who Thor had brought.

  
A silence fell over the team as they stared at the pale-skinned man with pitch black hair, standing behind Thor.

  
"Really, Goldilocks?" Tony finally broke the silence. "What the hell did you bring him along for?" He didn't even bother using Loki's name.

  
"My father doesn't want him in Asgard anymore," Thor explained. "Not for a while at least."

  
You stared at the younger of the two brothers; his green gaze was fixed on you, and you saw his eyebrows narrow, his mouth pressing into a straight line.

  
"You..." Loki hissed. "I know you... You filthy little wench!" He started to lunge forwards, but Thor caught him roughly by the arm and yanked him backwards.

  
You were on your feet, fingers tingling with sparks. Bucky moved to stand in front of you, hands at his side, feet slightly spread apart as his fingers flexed. Tony joined him, one quick order to JARVIS away from donning his suit and blasting the demigod with his repulsors. You caught a flash of red from your peripheral, and saw Wanda's hands taking on a familiar glow. She wasn't afraid to fight for you either.

  
"Come on, guys," Steve cajoled, moving to stand between the stare down. "Let's just calm down. There's no need for this. Loki, we would appreciate it if you didn't behave in a threatening manner towards (Y/N). We will fight to protect her, and if you try something, I won't be standing in the way to keep the peace."

  
"Brother, please," Thor grumbled. "You promised that you wouldn't try anything. You know father took away your magic anyways. There isn't much you can do."

  
"That _bitch_ ," Loki spat, still glowering at you through the wall of Avengers that had moved to stand around you, "stopped me from achieving my goal that day! And you would take her side? You would defend her before you would your own brother?" He glared at Thor next.

  
"I am not taking any side except for the side of what is right," Thor answered calmly. "Destroying this world and the humans who live here is not the right thing to do. You should know that by now. Please, just...keep your word to me."

  
"Fine," Loki glowered, crossing his arms tightly as Thor released his hold on him. "Find me a room then, and let me be away from these treacherous little snakes." His hot gaze was still fixed on you and Thor mouthed "sorry" as he took his brother away.

  
"That's it," Tony announced as the two gods disappeared down the hallway. "(Y/N), you're going to start staying in one of our rooms."

  
"What? What the hell for?" You protested. "I can take care of myself!"

  
"That is the god of mischief, honey," Natasha reminded you. "He doesn't need magic to think of a way to get to you."

  
"This is ridiculous! I'm not going to get all worried just because some whiny punk god doesn't like me," you huffed.

  
"Doesn't change the verdict," Tony shrugged. "Either you pick someone to stay with, or I'll pick for you. Going once...twice..."

  
"Okay, okay! Uh... Bucky!" You blurted out your answer without much thought.

  
All eyes turned to Bucky. He merely arched up his eyebrows.

  
"I thought you said there wasn't anything going on between you two," Sam grinned.

  
"Please don't make a bunch of noise," Pietro pleaded. "My room isn't far away and I like to sleep."

 

"Pietro, don't be crude," Wanda scolded.

  
"Guys, stop it!" Natasha frowned at them.

  
"I mean, uh-" You glanced over at Bucky. "If you don't mind that is, I just-"

  
"No, that's fine with me, doll." Bucky shrugged and then gave you a wink. "I'd be happy to have a pretty gal staying with me. We won't have to leave our rooms to talk about books anymore."

  
"Uh huh, talk about books..." Clint snickered. "Is that what you youngsters calling it these days? Hey, Nat, wanna come back to my room and 'talk about books'?"

  
"I'd rather eat Tony's cooking than do that," Natasha tossed back.

  
"Wow, I'm not that terrible!" Clint protested.

  
Steve looked at you and shrugged his shoulders. "We're surrounded by weird people."

  
You laughed as you went over to stand beside him, "Tell me about it... But they're our weird people, I guess."

  
"Well, doll," Bucky swaggered over, catching your hand in his. "I guess we'd better move your stuff over to my room. Shall we get to it?"

  
You rolled your eyes at the whistles some of the team tossed your way and the jokes about the two of you "shacking up" together. Tony was quiet for once, still watching down the hallway. He felt a storm brewing, and it wasn't one outside either...


	9. Moving Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky is helping you move your stuff into his place when a certain god with a strong disdain for you interrupts the moving party. After a brief confrontation, Bucky decides that dinner and a movie is as good a way as any to unwind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shite chapter. Honestly, I'm not quite sure what's going to happen next... I suppose I'll figure it out.

"Christ, doll, how have you managed to get so many clothes? You've only been here a few months." Bucky was making a fifth trip down the hall, a massive cardboard box in his arms that was laden with clothing.

  
"I don't know. I'm a girl, I have a lot of clothes," you shrugged, following him with a smaller box that contained your shoes. "Blame Tony, he's the one who is always buying me stuff."

  
"Most chicks wouldn't complain about that," he laughed.

  
"I'm not, I guess, I just wish he would realize that I'm capable of taking care of myself. He doesn't have to treat me like I'm his little girl."

  
"I think you can't get out of it, (Y/N)," Bucky smiled at you as he set down the box of clothes on his bed so you could start putting them away in his room. "He seems to be taking his role as your father figure quite seriously."

  
"I know," you sighed. "I...I guess I'm not really sure how to respond to it. I'm not used to people wanting to treat me this well."

  
"You probably should start then, I think he's unofficially adopted you as his daughter."

  
"Tony's a sweet guy," you smiled. "I really hope things work out between him and Pepper. This last separation has been rough on him."

  
"It'll all work out for the best," Bucky shrugged. "It took me a while to learn that." He glanced down at his arm. "Steve told me once that everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

  
"That sounds like some kind of shitty inspirational bullshit you see on a suburban soccer mom's Facebook page with some stock image photo of a lake," you laughed.

  
"I...didn't understand most of that," Bucky admitted.

  
"I'll get you up to speed on new wave technology later." You were walking down the hall with him, heading back to your old room to make sure you had gotten everything out of it.

  
Another set of footsteps reached your ears, and you glanced up, only to see a certain demigod who hated your guts. Green eyes shot daggers your direction, and you pressed closer to Bucky.

  
"I see him, doll," Bucky whispered under his breath. You had noticed that he'd recently started carrying one of his knives on his thigh. His hand dropped down to it, fingers playing gently on the hilt. "You lost, Loki?"

  
"No, not at all." Loki all but sneered as he leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest. "I would simply like to have a word with your lady friend here, if she would so please."

  
"No, I do not so please," you growled at him. "Leave me alone, Loki. What happened back in Germany is over and done. Let it go."

  
"Let it go?" His tone dropped, filled with poison. "Let it go? You have the nerve, the audacity, the gall to interrupt my plans, to ruin my life, to make my father hate me even more, and then you tell me to let it go?!" His voice had risen sharply, and he stood up straight, hands clenched at his sides.

  
"Listen up, buster," you snarled, your temper starting to get the best of you. "Maybe you haven't watched Frozen yet, but you need to pretend that you're Elsa and just let it go! Perhaps you should have thought your plan through a little better! Of course no one is going to like you, you tried to commit mass slaughter! You betrayed your father! Can you blame him for hating you?!"

  
Loki blinked a couple of times, taken back by your outburst. Normally, the others came to your defense. You hadn't said much to him at all since he had arrived. Thor appeared, drawn by the arguing. He took Loki by the arm, frowning at him, then gave you an apology as he drug his brother back down the hallway.

  
"He really isn't going to like me now," you sighed as you glanced up at Bucky.

  
"I don't think he likes much of anyone," Bucky observed, watching the two gods walk away, "because he doesn't like himself. Doesn't make what he did any less wrong or evil, but you can't help but pity him sometimes."

  
"I know," you nodded. "I do feel sorry for him, but destroying an entire race out of spite isn't the best way to handle daddy issues."

  
You and Bucky stood there in the hall for a moment longer, not saying a word. Finally, he squeezed your hand. He didn't let go as he took you back to your room. After a quick sweep to make sure nothing had been forgotten, you went back to his living quarters. Which were now yours... It felt odd to say "yours and Bucky's" place.

  
He sat down on the couch, pulling you down with him and hugging you tightly to his chest. It was strange, him showing this much affection. He didn't give any to the others. He would barely give Steve a one-armed hug, but he loved to hug you.

  
"Why don't we find something to do to take our minds off of Sir Pouty-Pants?" He suggested, his chin resting on your shoulder.

  
"What did you have in mind?" You were fighting to keep your mind out of the gutter, but that was easier said than done when you were pressed up against one of the sexiest men you'd had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with.

  
"I dunno," he admitted. "We can go out and find something to do, or we can be lazy, I can order us food in, and we can find something to watch. You can pick, I'm still not very knowledgeable about all this newfangled stuff."

  
"Newfangled?" You giggled as his vocabulary.

  
"What's wrong with 'newfangled'?" He pulled back from hugging you, one eyebrow cocking up. "Too old-school for you kids these days?"

  
"No, I suppose not," you laughed. "It's just not something you hear used very often in day-to-day conversation. But fine, dinner and a movie." You stood up and grabbed the remote, switching on Netflix and scrolling through the suggested titles while Bucky called for pizza. The man really loved pizza...you were almost jealous.

  
"Oh! Gladiator!" You plopped down on the couch, hugging your knees excitedly. "I love this movie!"

  
Bucky set down beside you after he had finished the phone call. "Alright, gladiators it is then. I always liked Roman history."

  
"Yeah, cause you lived during it," you teased under your breath.

  
"Wow," Bucky huffed. "That was rude."


	10. Where There's Smoke...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky are spending the afternoon together, when a sudden disaster shatters the quiet time. When you arrive on the scene, however, you soon discover who the public is naming as the culprit: you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have y'all ever watched Gladiator? It's one of my favorite movies, and for real, I always cry when I watch it. Not even gonna lie.

"Wow..." Bucky stared as the credits from Gladiator began to roll, "Now We Are Free" continuing in the background. "That was...that was really good." He glanced over at you, only to find you sniffling and wiping at the tears in your eyes.

  
"Yeah, I really love this movie," you hiccuped, trying to keep from straight up sobbing. "It's just fantastic all the way around."

  
"Hey, don't cry, doll." Bucky put his arm around you and pulled you over to sit in his lap. "At least he gets to be with his family again, right? He can kiss his wife and hug his son."

  
"But why did they have to die in the first place?" You wailed. "That little punk ass kid, he murdered his family, then he killed him too, and it-it's just not fair!"

  
Bucky rocked you in his arms, kissing your forehead and cuddling you into his chest. "I know it's not, baby doll, but it all worked out to be alright, didn't it? He killed that snot-nosed jerk and is with his family now."

  
You sniffed and wiped at your eyes, "I guess so..." A small smile tugged at your lips and you giggled softly. "Sorry, I know it's silly to cry over a movie."

  
"Don't be, doll." He kissed your cheek. "It just means that you have a good heart."

  
Your smile wilted as you met his gaze. "If...if I think about what happened...what HYDRA did to you, I-" your voice broke, the words faltering.

  
"Then don't." Bucky rested his forehead against yours, eyes shutting. "Don't think about it. That's all over and done. I don't ever want you to cry over me, okay?"

  
"I already have," you admitted.

  
After several seconds of silence, you felt Bucky's lips brush across yours, a featherlight touch that lasted for a split moment. He pressed his lips to yours finally, his hands sliding up to cradle your face as his thumbs brushed the tears away from your eyes. When he pulled back, he smiled at you.

  
"It's nice to have a pretty girl to worry over me, but from now on, when you think about me, I want you to smile. I'll give you more reasons, if you want."

  
"Here's the thing, Bucky boy," you smiled back at him, moving to straddle his lap, your hands resting on his strong shoulders. "I've done that too."

  
"Oh." Bucky was silent for once, a grin tugging up his mouth. "Well, I'm happy to hear that." He stroked your hair, winding a strand of it around his finger.

  
You leaned down, placing another kiss on his lips. Bucky took his time, kissing you thoroughly. His hands went down to your hips and he pulled you closer.

  
A sudden explosion interrupted the unhurried make out session, and you pulled away from Bucky, the two of you straightening your clothes, stuffing your feet into your shoes, and then running out the door. The rest of the Avengers were gathered in the hallway, looking at a billow of smoke coming up several blocks away.

  
"Yes, yes, I got it, Patches," Tony was on the phone, pacing back and forth. "Don't worry, we'll get it sorted out." He hung up, and called his suit to him. It came flying down the hallway, past the other Avengers, and you watched in fascination as Iron Man took Tony Stark's place.

  
"Cap, suit up. You're coming with me. Big Bird, I need you watching the rooftops, Shoo Fly, you're my eyes in the sky." Steve, Clint, and Sam took off running to grab their gear.  
"And you, Sparky," the blue lights of his eyes landed on you. "You're coming with me too. Cap and I might need back up on the ground." You nodded and took off after the boys to the armory. It wasn't long before the four of you were suited up and ready to go. You hitched a ride with Tony, while Sam took Clint to drop him off at a vantage point, and Steve took the streets, heading towards the cloud of black haze in the distance.

  
Tony landed in front of what used to be a subway station, setting you down on your feet. Steve came running up shortly, and the three of you moved through the crowd that had gathered. Steve began the rescue efforts, lifting the rubble away from some of the trapped civilians. You helped, as you had discovered a week or so ago during training that if you channeled your electricity just right, you could amplify your strength. You couldn't match Steve, but you were still pretty strong.

  
Tony got stuck questioning the people all around, trying to figure out what had happened. Steve finished freeing the last victim, and ambulances were already taking away the wounded.

  
"Cap, over here!" You waved him over to where the entrance to the subway tunnels should have been. Concrete blocked the stairway, and the two of you wasted no time in beginning to clear it away.

  
"Hey, Iron Man, little help over here?" Steve grunted as he shoved away a massive chunk of rubble. Tony made his way over, and soon, there was a nice path cleared away.

  
"I'll stay here and handle the press bullshit," Tony stated, which was a wonderful relief for you.

  
"Alright. (Y/N) and I will see if we can't find anyone else down in the tunnels." Steve headed off into the darkness. You followed him, and let a pulse of sparks light up your hand. You took point, since you were providing the light now, and the both of you picked your way through the mess.

  
After about 30 minutes of careful searching, no one was found except for a young woman, her body crushed by a fallen support beam. She was already dead when you found her, and Steve lifted her up, cradling her in his arms as you began making your way to the surface. A weak cry caught your attention, and you left Steve in darkness as you ran over to the source of the noise.

  
After pawing at the bits of concrete and mangled steel, you found what you were looking for: a baby, trapped in its car seat. The car seat was pushed up into a corner, the back of it facing outwards. A massive steel beam had fallen down over it, barely missing the child, but you had a feeling it saved the baby's life. You eased the baby out of the car seat and found only a few bruises and scrapes.

  
"It's okay," you crooned, hugging the infant close to your chest and patting her on the back. "I've got you. You're safe now." You kept a tight hold on her with one hand, while you lit up your free hand once again and went back to Steve.

  
"At least we could save someone down here," he smiled at you, but it was tight-lipped and strained. The girl in his arms, with her lovely dark skin and black hair in its tight curls, was still as lifeless as when you had left her. It made your stomach churn, but you quietly led Steve back outside, the sunshine blinding when you entered it once again.  
By now, there was a news crew and police swarming everywhere, pushing people back from the scene. Tony had his mask up and was talking to the reporters. He turned to look at you and Steve when you came out, Steve holding the limp body and you, with the still crying baby. You couldn't blame her, poor thing. It must have been terrifying.  
Steve handed over the body to the police, simply nodding when they thanked him. He didn't feel like he deserved thanks. He hadn't been able to save her, and he turned away when the body bag covered her face. You still had the baby, and she clutched tightly to you, whimpering and looking around with wide brown eyes. She had to have been no more than a few months old, you decided. Just old enough to hold support her own head.

  
"Excuse me," you approached an officer. "This child was down there too. I'm sure her parents would like to get her back." You handed the baby over, and she started crying again as she was pulled from your arms. You tried to ignore it.

  
"Hey! It was her!"

  
A sudden accusation from the crowd made you look up, and you saw all eyes were trained on...you? What was going on?"

  
"Yeah! She planted the explosives!" Someone else piped up.

  
"Me?" You were finally able to manage that much. What were they talking about?

  
"Now hold on just a damn minute." Tony made his way to your side, and he crossed his arms. "All of you know that's a filthy lie! She came with us!"

  
"We saw her!" A man stepped forwards, glaring at you and speaking for the crowd that was quickly turning into a mob. "A lot of us recognize her. How are you going to argue with that?"

  
"Because she was with us all day," Steve explained as he moved to stand beside you as well.

  
"Did you see her all morning?" The man interrogated, not wanting to let go of his plight easily.

  
"Well, no," Steve relented, "but that doesn't-"

  
"So she could have had time to sneak off and blow up the subway!"

  
"Get the bitch!"

  
"My fiance died because of her!"

  
The mass of people was getting worked up, and the police's efforts to keep things calm weren't exactly working out very well.

  
"Sam, how are we on airspace?" Tony asked as he lowered the visor of his helmet.

  
"You're all cleared for take off," Sam answered, his voice coming over the earpiece that you wore.

  
"Alright. Come down here and get Capsicle, we're about to blast off."

  
Sam came swooping down, and got Steve off the ground. You grabbed onto Tony when he gave you the word, and he shot off the ground, away from the screaming public as they hurled insults and whatever objects they could pick up at you.

  
"Barton, hang tight," Tony ordered. "I'll double back and get you after I drop off Sparky here."

  
"Yeah, sure, just leave me behind to get mauled by an angry mob," Clint huffed, plopping down to sit on his rooftop. "At least they don't know I'm up here..."

  
A quick flight later, Tony dropped you off on the balcony of his room and office, then darted away again to get Clint. You headed to the armory to put your gear away. Steve and Sam were coming out as you went in. Steve turned, falling in at your side.

  
"Don't let what those people said get to you, (Y/N)," he said.

  
"I know I didn't do it, Steve," you sighed as you began pulling off your silver and yellow catsuit. "I just wish I could make them understand that I didn't." Steve averted his eyes as you were left in your bra and panties. You found the clothes you had changed out of earlier and began putting them back on.

  
"I know," he agreed. "I don't quite get how they can blame you. I mean, you were here all morning. Unless it was someone who looked exactly like you, I don't know how-"

  
"Exactly like me?" You glanced up at him, eyebrows furrowing. "I wonder if... No, no that can't be right." You shook your head, frowning as you headed out of the armory. When you and Steve got out, Tony was back with Clint, and all the Avengers were there in the hall, simply watching you.

  
"Can I help you guys?" You asked, one eyebrow arching up. No one answered. They all dispersed, and Tony smiled sadly at you.

  
"I told them what happened," he admitted. "We all know it wasn't you who did it, but...I don't know how we're going to buck the press on this one."

  
"(Y/N)? Are you alright?" Bucky was coming towards you and he opened up his arms. You went to him and pressed your head against his shoulder as he hugged you tightly.

  
"Yeah," you nodded. "I'm okay, I just-"

  
"It's just stupid mob mentality," he stated as he kissed your hair. "Don't worry about it, alright? We'll prove that you didn't do it. Come on, why don't we go get you cleaned up?"

  
Steve and Tony stood together, watching as Bucky guided you down the hall. They glanced at each other.

  
"What are we going to do?" Steve questioned.

  
"I...I'm not sure yet," Tony sighed. "If they find security footage and it shows that (Y/N), or...whoever looked like her was there... I mean, shit, we all know she was here and that she would never do anything like that, but... Damn." He shook his head, running his still armored fingers through his hair. "I don't know what to do."

_

Loki smirked to himself as he sat in his room. He had watched as the chaos unfolded on the news channel, how everyone was pointing the blame at (Y/N). This was going quite well... If she could ruin his plans, why, he could play the same game. He wasn't above petty trickery, after all.

  
"Silly father thought I was left without anything in my arsenal," Loki mused to himself. He chuckled and folded his hands behind his head. Now, what could he do to get her in trouble next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone's a tricky bastard! Oh no!


	11. And the Plot Thickens...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting worse for you. Someone is still trying their hardest to ruin your public image, and it's working. You give up on trying to venture out of the tower after someone cuts your face with a thrown bottle. The Avengers promise to try even harder to figure out who is behind this, but will it be too late?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone is a piece of shit... Hint: It's not me. (Okay, actually, I am, but I mean someone else.) Thankfully, you have Bucky for snuggles.

"I don't know what to do, Bucky," you cried, leaning into his chest and hiding your face against him. Whoever tried to frame you for the explosion at the subway station hadn't let up. It had gone on for three months continuously, something happening at least once a week. Some of the problems were minor, but still, they kept pointing the finger at you.

  
No matter how hard Tony, Steve, or any of the other Avengers that the public trusted tried, they couldn't clear your name. It was becoming increasingly dangerous for you to leave the tower, and after today's incident, you made up your mind to not leave again for a very long time. Someone had thrown an empty wine bottle at you, and now you had a jagged row of stitches across your cheek and smaller cuts closed up with tissue glue along your nose.

  
"It's alright, doll," Bucky kissed your head, hugging you close. He had tried over and over to figure out who was behind defiling your reputation, but there was nothing. No clues, no evidence, no trace that could point to the culprit. Each time he failed, and it made him madder and madder with each short coming. He wanted to find who was doing this to you, and he wanted to rip their heart from their chest with his bare hands.

  
"But I can't even go out in public anymore," you hiccuped, wincing as the effort to talk made your new wound throb in pain.

  
"I should hunt down the bastard who threw that bottle and kick his ass," Bucky growled. He pulled you into his lap, rocking you in his arms. The two of you were in the common room on the couch, and the other Avengers were keeping their distance for the time being, a few of them were out and about the city.

  
"No, that would just make it worse," you sniffled. "If I could just figure out who's behind this and prove to everyone...I just want to clear my name and get things back to normal."

  
"As normal as they can be for an Avenger," Bucky smiled a bit, rubbing his thumb over your unhurt cheek.

  
"I can't figure out who would be doing this though." You tilted your head up, studying Bucky's face and tried to rein in your tears. "I haven't done anything to anyone! Ever! There should be no reason for anyone to get revenge on me."

  
"Not a damn thing," Tony announced as he came into the common room and plopped into a chair, still in his dress suit. "I searched every single scene that you were supposedly responsible for. I talked to people, tried to find something out, but nope." He shook his head before letting it fall back.

  
Steve trailed in not far behind, and you could tell by his windblown hair that he had been out on his motorcycle. "I didn't find anything out either," he admitted before finding a seat. "(Y/N) was relatively unknown still before all this, since we hadn't actually publicly announced her joining us yet."

  
"Which means it has to be someone close to her," Natasha proclaimed as she came to lean against the wall. "Or around her enough anyways."

  
"Sounds like it's time to do some old fashioned spying," Clint grinned at you. "I've been staying out of the air vents for a while now after...uh, some unfortunate sights, but I'll start making some rounds again, see if I can find anything out in the tower."

  
"I'm afraid I cannot do much to help locate whoever is responsible for this," Thor apologized as he headed into the kitchen, "but I will help you apprehend them once we learn their identity. I can do that much."

  
"I'll keep a watch out too," Wanda offered as she and Pietro meandered into the room.

  
"I can catch them!" Pietro grinned, and that made you laugh.

  
"Of course you can, Pietro," you smiled warmly at him, feeling happy to know that everyone was eager to try and be your hero. "We'll...I guess we'll just have to wait and see," you shrugged.

  
"I tried to find some DNA or something, but I'm afraid that turned up with nothing too," Bruce had finally emerged from the lab, and he was cleaning his glasses off before he slid them into his coat pocket. "But if there's anything else I can do, just let me know."

  
"Thanks, guys," your mood had improved a bit by now, and your smile stayed. "At least all of you know I wouldn't do this stuff."

  
"Now, that's enough doom and gloom," Tony got up from his chair. "I don't know about you chumps, but I'm hungry. Who wants supper? I'll call something in and go pick it up." Everyone's thoughts changed to the prospect of food, and after some bickering over where to get food from and telling Tony what they wanted, the Avengers settled down in the common room. Pietro decided it would be good to watch something funny to help you laugh some more.

  
Bucky hugged you close as Bob's Burgers started up, and you glanced back at him, smiling softly. He smiled back, that warm smile he saved specially for you, and kissed the tip of your nose.

_

Loki scowled as he tiptoed his way back down the hall without a sound. He reached his room and eased the door shut. Even his own brother had vowed to help her clear her name... That bitch, turning his brother against him!

  
"Thor was always weak," Loki muttered to himself as he went to the panel of wallpaper with the curled up edge. He lifted the flap of paper out of the way and stepped back, studying the plan that he had mapped out on the wall. "There must be something I can do, something drastic that they can't ignore..."

  
He frowned in thought, his mind turning. The explosion at the subway had been the most severe crime so far, so perhaps...

  
"Hm, where is the greatest concentration of people in this damn city...? Wait!" Loki's face lit up as he looked at his calendar instead. Events and celebratory days were scribbled down on dates. "Hundreds of people gather on New Years' Eve to watch that stupid ball drop..." A wicked grin pulled at his face. It was mid-November, so he would have to wait about a month or so for his next move, but he was certain that his next plan would bring him victory.

  
"Perfect... Absolutely perfect." He chuckled to himself and replaced the wallpaper over everything before going to find a book. He was quite pleased with himself...


	12. Cure for Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since you've decided to stay into the tower until further notice, you are running short of things to do. Bucky has an idea, however, to keep you entertained for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I am garbage. Absolute trash. Took me forever to get this chapter out. Kinda in a writing slump lately. I've got all these ideas, I start them, then I decide they're dumb and I throw them away. So here! Have some smut!

"Bucky," you groaned. "I'm bored." You were sprawled out face down across his bed, legs spread-eagled. It had been weeks since you had left the tower. Most of your time was spent working out, training and honing your skills, watching Bruce and Tony in the lab, or just being flat out bored.

  
Bucky had just entered his quarters, which you were still living in. You had a feeling that this would be a permanent fixture until whoever was framing you for crimes could be caught. First, Tony had been worried about Loki, but now it seemed that someone else was out to get you, and that was taking precedence. All-in-all: you were still staying with Bucky.

  
"I know, (Y/N)," Bucky answered as you heard him kick off his shoes. He came into the bedroom and flopped down beside you, lying on his back, your faces next to one another. He glanced over at you, and you smiled at him.

  
"At least the view is always nice," you teased.

  
"I couldn't agree more." He winked at you and kissed the tip of your exposed nose.

  
"I was talking about you, Barnes."

  
"And I was talking about you."

  
The two of you laid in companionable silence for a moment, just watching one another. Bucky turned onto his left side, propping himself up on his metal elbow while reaching out with his right hand. His fingers skimmed down your back, slithered under the curve of your shirt hem, and then inched up your skin.

  
"I know something fun we could do," he suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

  
"Oh, really?" You feigned ignorance, turning onto your side as well so that you could fully face him.

  
"Mhm," he hummed, leaning closer to you.

  
"What exactly did you have in mind?"

  
"Here," he whispered as his lips grazed your ear. "Let me show you." Bucky's hand slipped to your back and he pulled you across the covers until you were pressed flush to his chest. He kissed you unhurriedly, his lips taking their sweet time as they moved over your own. His kisses were thorough, and by the time he finally slipped his tongue between your open lips, you were melting in his hands.

  
You let him press you down into the mattress as he laid you down, his body moving over yours. The weight of him on top of you, pinning you down so effortlessly made your mind race with all the possibilities that could be had. His super human strength had your thoughts jumping right into the gutter, and you didn't really give a damn to try and stop them.

  
Bucky's hips were rubbing against yours, the hard bulge constrained by his jeans had you getting awfully hot under the collar, and his lips were working down the side of your neck. He stopped kissing you long enough to get your shirt off, then his mouth found your skin once more, his teeth scraping along your collarbone.

  
You ran your hands all over him, touching as much of him as you could, your fingertips tracing all the dips and swells of solid muscle and sex appeal that was James Buchanan Barnes.

  
"This needs to be off," you managed to utter, hands tugging up the bottom of his shirt. He pulled it off over his head with one hand in an effortless manner that made you want to moan. It had to be illegal to be this damn hot. You would have to ask someone the laws of physical attractiveness later on when you weren't focused on reaching your goal that was currently hidden away inside Bucky's pants.

  
The kisses grew more heated and Bucky's hands were made short work of the rest of your apparel until there was a pile of clothes on the floor. His hands were all over you, skimming over every single inch like he was mapping you out for future reference. You hoped to all things holy that he was planning on using those references another time.   
Finally, you managed to get him out of those jeans. As your hand went towards his black briefs, he caught your wrist, a smirk on those sinful lips.

  
"You sure about this, doll?"

  
"James Barnes, I will claw out your eyeballs if you don't quit teasing me," you warned, eyes staring hotly into his blue ones.

  
"I'm not teasing, sweet thing." He kissed your nose and then pressed his forehead against yours. His smirk had settled into a more gentle smile. "If...certain memories of yours from your past start bugging you, just let me know and I'll stop. Okay?"

  
"To be honest, that hadn't even crossed my mind," you admitted, feeling a little mushy inside from his concern. "I'll be alright. I've got you to focus on."

  
"Alright, then." He smiled at you again and then let go of your hands. He sat back on his knees, working his underwear down his thighs, past his knees, then finally kicking them off.

  
You reached forwards, caught a handful of his hair, and yanked him down closer. He groaned at the stinging sensation in his scalp. When he looked at you again, his blue eyes were blazing.

  
"Now hurry up and fuck me, Barnes," you commanded. He laughed at that and simply began kissing along your chest, pausing to flick your nipples with his tongue a few times and give them experimental nips with his teeth.

  
"I'm going to take my time first," he promised. His lips continued their slow descent, between the valley of your breasts, between your rib cage, over your navel, down your abdomen... You were squirming in anticipation. His fingers had a firm grip on your thighs, keeping your legs held apart so that you couldn't use them to pull him closer.  
His mouth was getting closer to where you wanted it, and you began worrying that he might decide to tease you. You whimpered at the thought, but much to your delight, he didn't stop, and soon his tongue was sweeping across your clit.

  
Your head dropped down to rest against the bed, and you busied your fingers in Bucky's hair, marveling at how silky it was while trying to keep from shoving your hips up into his face. He placed his right hand on his lower stomach, easily keeping you pressed down on the mattress. His tongue slipped its way inside of you, stretching out and flicking up experimentally until he found the rough little spot in the smooth muscle just a couple of inches up.

  
You moaned loudly, one hand tightening in his hair while the other went down to grip the sheets, trying to use them as an anchor. Bucky glanced up at you; you felt his lips pull up into a smirk, then he shoved his face closer, bridge of his nose against your clit while he tongue kept working its magic.

  
Soft gasps tore from your throat, your lips opening and closing. You felt like a fish out of water as you tried to catch your breath while the pleasure continued to grow and the tension in your lower belly tightened. It was growing nearly unbearable, until finally, it broke, and your muscles contracted with your climax. You thought you could hear the sound of Bucky lapping you clean with his tongue, but you were calling out his name and weren't paying much attention to noise.

  
He pulled his head away, grabbing a corner of a sheet to wipe his face clean before lining his hips up with yours, kissing you hungrily while his cock pressed teasingly against your thighs.

  
"Ready for round two?" He chuckled huskily, eyes dancing with proud delight. You nodded, not quite sure if you could speak, and settled for a high-pitched squeak as he eased his length into you. You managed to think clearly enough to give him a little squeeze with your inner muscles, and he shuddered against you, a groan on his lips.

  
Bucky took that as confirmation enough and began rocking steadily into you. Not too fast, not too slow. He wanted to keep up a good pace, but he wanted to have enough breath to kiss you. And he did. He kissed you until your lungs burned for oxygen. Then, once you had gotten your wind back, his lips found yours again.

  
His arms wound around your back, and he crushed you against his chest, holding you as closely as possible while his forearms and knees supported the weight of both of you.  
"Look at me, (Y/N)," he grunted against your lips. "Look at me, baby doll."

  
You met his gaze, moaning and whimpering and holding onto his broad shoulders for dear life.

  
"Shit, doll," Bucky panted, groaning as he lowered his head to press his forehead against yours. "Fuck me, I love you."

  
Your heart soared, from both the pleasure coursing through your body and the words that had just tumbled from his mouth. You tried to answer him, but then you gasped as you heard the door to Bucky's living quarters open.

  
"Buck? (Y/N)? You two in here?" It was Clint. "We've been looking for you guys!"

  
"Get out of here, Barton!" Bucky yelled, but he doesn't stop thrusting in and out of you.

  
"Come on, Barnes, there's something Tony wanted to-"

  
"Get the fuck out!"

  
Bucky's hips slam into yours as his voice raises, and you let out a squeal, your legs clenching around his waist as you buck your hips up into his.

  
"Oh, holy shit, I am so sorry!" There's hurried footsteps, then the door slams shut. Bucky doesn't stop his newly set pace, however, and he keeps going on long, hard, fast strokes. You're gasping out little "oh's", your fingers scrabbling over the metal on his left arm, and then he has you screaming.

  
"James! Oh God!" You held onto him like your life depended on it as a second wave of pure bliss swept over you. You felt him twitching inside you as your muscles clenched and quivered around him. He groaned loudly, alternating between your name and swearing.

  
Bucky was still for a moment, hissing between his teeth as he eased out of your with a wet, filthy noise. He dropped down on the mattress beside you, both of you panting for air.

  
"Jesus, I bet he's telling everyone..." Bucky sighed, draping a forearm over his eyes. "Tony's gonna have a mouthful for me."

  
"Probably so," you nodded. Then, you took his hand, easing his arm from his eyes so that he could look at you. "Bucky, did...did you mean what you said? Earlier?"

  
"That I love you?" His eyebrows furrowed, and when you nodded again, he smiled sheepishly. "Yeah... It-it wasn't just a heat of the moment thing... I promise."

  
You smiled bashfully at him, feeling giddy and worn out. "I love you too, James..."

  
He broke into a tired grin and hugged you close, pulling the comforter loose to cover up the two of you. He kissed your cheek and you nuzzled into his chest.

  
"We'll deal with our idiot friends later," he whispered. "Let's just stay like this for a while." You didn't need any persuasion for that. The two of you snuggled as close to one another as you could possibly get. Your eyes shut for a long second, that one second turning into several more and finally turning into empty, peaceful sleep.


	13. Change of Address

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few moments of plotting Bucky's murder, Tony decides to tell you the news. The public's hate for you has grown so much that the entire team has decided that there is only one option left. You need to leave, for your own safety. Tony offers his place in the mountains of Alaska, and Bucky offers to accompany you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot development. That's about it. Plus slight fluff because sometimes it's okay to throw a little fit and make a sexy ass super soldier dress you.

"I don't wanna get up," you whined, pulling the pillow over your head and turning away from Bucky.

  
"Come on, doll," he shook your shoulder gently. "We need to at least go kick Clint in the balls."

  
"But I'm sleepy," you pouted at him as he yanked the pillow away.

  
"We've been napping most of the afternoon," he chuckled and then scooped you up in his arms and carried you to the couch. He sat you down and then went back to the bedroom.

  
You flopped back down on the couch, curling your still naked body up into as small of a ball that you could. Bucky came back a few minutes later in jeans and a t-shirt, some of your clothes in his hand. He pulled you up into a sitting position. You slumped back against the cushions, screwing your eyes shut.

  
"Fine." He huffed. "Be that way. I'll dress you myself." He slid your arms through the straps of your bra and then fastened the hooks behind your back. Your panties went on next, then he slipped one of his t-shirts over your head, gently working your arms through the sleeves. He began putting your pants on you, then lifted you up with one hand while he finished pulling them up.

  
When he let go, you flopped back on the couch stubbornly, trying to keep from smiling. This was turning into a sort of game. You heard him chuckle, then felt him button and zip up your jeans. He smoothed your hair down, then caught your hands and tugged you up to your feet.

  
"Come on, (Y/N). Tony's gonna send out a search party for you and a hit squad for me if we don't make an appearance soon."

  
"Ugh, fine." You relented with a groan then shuffled along behind him, out the door, down the hall, and into the common room. Clint, Thor, and Sam were grinning from ear to ear, Pietro was snickering, Wanda was rolling her eyes at the boys, Natasha sat on the couch with a smile, Bruce kept his eyes on his newspaper, and Steve just shook his head. Tony, however, stood in front of the coffee table, arms folded across his chest as he glared at Bucky.

  
"So... You two have a good morning?" If he wasn't comically shorter than Bucky, it might have been intimidating, but as it was, he had to look up to the super soldier, so it was just flat out hilarious.

  
"Tony, calm your balls," you laughed and then went to the kitchen, a couple of missed meals starting to catch up with you.

  
"Barnes, I swear, if you knock her up and ditch her or something-"

  
"Stark, fuck's sake, man!" Bucky laughed. "You know I would never do that."

  
"Good," Tony stated shortly. "Because I would murder you. Horribly."

  
"Simmer down there, Rumpelstiltskin," Sam chuckled. "Buck wouldn't do a thing like that."

  
"Uh huh, he'd better not," Tony growled, but he sat down in the chair he designated as his. "Now, what Clint was going to tell you when he interrupted your party of two was that I needed to tell you two something."

  
"What's up, Tony?" You came back into the room with a sandwich, sitting down in the floor by Tony's chair. You munched idly on your sandwich. It wasn't like things could get too much worse for your public reputation, so you weren't too worried.

  
"(Y/N)..." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "People want you...gone."

  
"Gone?" You looked up at him with a frown. "What do you mean?"

  
"What they mean is dead, or locked away so deep in a maximum security prison that not even the fuckin' earthworms could reach you."

  
"But I haven't done anything!" You protested. "Someone is framing me for this bullshit, and it's not fair!" You got up, sandwich forgotten on the paper towel that was serving as its plate.

  
"We know it's not," Natasha agreed, "but right now, we don't have a way to prove the truth to them."

  
"We're working on it," Steve promised. "Until we get some solid evidence though, we think it would be safer if...well, if you went somewhere else."

  
"You want me to leave...?" You looked around at them, eyes wide in disbelief.

  
"No, of course not," Wanda smiled sadly. "We love having you here, but it would be in your best interests to be somewhere safe until we can prove your innocence."

  
"And then you can come back!" Pietro added brightly.

  
"She doesn't need to be by herself, though," Bruce chimed in quietly.

  
"I'll go with her," Bucky offered. "I'll make sure she's safe."

  
"You better protect her with your life, Barnes," Tony shot him another glare. "I have a place in Alaska, out in the mountains. There's a town a few miles away, so you can get supplies and all that if you need to. Just a little cabin, nothing fancy, but it'll be a good place for you to hide out in. I imagine people there won't know much, if anything at all."

  
"If that's what's best..." You chewed on your lip, then nodded. "Alright. I'll go. I'm sure it'll make things a bit easier on you guys without having the press breathing down your necks so much."

  
"I can fly you two there," Tony offered. "I've got keys to the cabin, and there's a four wheel drive jeep that I keep in the garage there. It can handle the terrain and snow."

  
"I...guess I'll go pack my things." You picked up your sandwich, looking down at the bread. "I'll miss you guys."

  
The whole team gathered around, giving you hugs and patting you on the shoulder, promising that they would send for you as soon as it was safe for you to come back. Bucky caught your hand and gave you a comforting smile.

  
"Come on, doll. I'll be there with you. It'll be alright. Besides, it's December. There'll be snow and all that jazz. It'll be pretty."

  
"I guess so," you shrugged, giving him a small smile in return.

  
"Let me know when you're ready to go," Tony instructed. "I'll go get dressed, and then we can take a ride on one of my jets. You'll like it."

  
"Thanks, Tony. And thanks, guys. I'll miss all of you an awful lot."

  
"We'll get hugs in before we go!" Thor promised as he came down the hall. "Sorry I wasn't here for the whole conversation, but I was trying to talk Loki into helping us find whoever is defiling your name. No luck..." He scowled.

  
"Thank you, Thor, but that doesn't surprise me. He hates my guts." You laughed, then followed Bucky to his room to start packing. Tears were pricking at your eyes already...this was home...you didn't want to go...


	14. Welcome to Alaska

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You arrive at Tony's cabin. After getting you and Bucky settled in, he leaves to start a more in-depth investigation to figure out who is framing you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, dumb chapter with some fluff. Enjoy the fluff. Gonna be more smut later. And maybe, just maybe, some kickassery in the snow later on? Who knows? (Me. That's who.)

You didn't say much on the flight to Tony's private airstrip in Alaska. He and Bucky tried to cheer you up as much as possible, but you weren't really in the mood for conversation. Finally, they gave up, letting you sit quietly in your seat and they went to see what Tony had in his on-board bar.

  
Bucky took the spot beside Tony and glanced over at him. "You'll get this bullshit cleared up, right?"

  
"I'll try my best," Tony promised. "I don't like having to send her away either, but things are only going to get worse for her if she stays there in New York. At least this way, she'll be away from the angry mobs and gossip."

  
"I wish I could get my hands on whatever fucker is doing this to her," Bucky growled, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the floor of the jet. Tony slid him a glass of whiskey, and the two of them drank in silence.

  
"I know. I don't like it either. I told her I'd protect her. Feels like I've let her down."

  
"It's not your fault, Stark. Not even you can control everything that happens."

  
"Dammit, Barnes, I should have been able to figure this out by now! I have the money, I have the resources,but I can't do a damn bit of good. It's really pissing me the hell off."

  
"I understand." Bucky patted Tony on the shoulder and then studied his whiskey, swishing it around gently in his glass. "Every time I see that scar on her cheek, I want to tear someone a new asshole."

  
"I'd pay your bail," Tony offered with a slight smile.

  
"Thanks," Bucky chuckled, then finished his drink.

  
"Alright, folks," Tony stood up. "Please return to your seats, buckle up, and prepare for landing. Elapsed arrival time is 15 minutes."

  
Bucky went to you and sat down, taking your hand and giving it a squeeze as the two of you put on your seat belts. He smiled, then leaned over and kissed your cheek.  
"It'll be alright, doll," he whispered. "We'll get this all sorted out, and we'll be back with our friends in no time."

  
You gave him a ghost of a smile, and leaned against his shoulder as the plane began to descend. It landed with a bit of a jolt, then taxied down the runway. You could feel it beginning to slow down, and you just sat there, snuggled into Bucky's side. It finally stopped, and Tony came to join you.

  
"Alright. Come on, I'll help you two get your bags. A friend of mine is here to give us a lift. He'll take us to the cabin, I'll give you a quick tour, then I'll need to head back. I've got some digging and possible black mailing to do."

  
"Thanks, Tony." You smiled at him as you stood up, and the three of you gathered up the luggage you and Bucky had brought. The runway was slick, and Bucky helped you cross it. Tony, a little too confident, busted on his ass and you laughed as you went to help him up.

  
His friend was an older gentleman, in his early 60's, you guessed. He introduced himself, helped you get your things loaded in the back of his SUV, then began the drive to Tony's cabin, chattering on in friendly conversation the whole way there. His name was David Williams, he was 63, he had been married to his wife for 40 years, had three children, 5 grandchildren, and liked to go fishing.

  
You smiled as he kept up the conversation. You couldn't imagine how Tony had managed to make friends with someone so...normal and stable. After about 20 minutes, you pulled up to the cabin. Your jaw dropped as you got out.

  
"Tony! I thought you said it was a little cabin!"

  
"Is it not? Ah, poor people," he teased.

  
"Come on, Stark, this place is more like some sort of resort lodge," Bucky commented as he helped Tony carry in the suitcases.

  
The cabin was an elegantly rustic two-story structure, a balcony on the second floor and a wrap around porch on the lower level. There was a massive fire place in the middle of each floor, the kitchen looked like a chef's dream, and the bedrooms alone were the size of the quarters that you and Bucky shared back at the Avengers Tower.

  
"You should see my beach house in the Caribbean," Tony shrugged. He set down the last suitcase in the floor of the master bedroom, then pulled you into a tight hug. "I'll send for you as soon as it's safe to come back. Alright?"

  
You hugged him back, tears starting to spill out. "I'll miss you, Tony. Tell everyone else I'll miss them too, alright?" You had gotten hugs from everyone before you left. Thor had nearly fractured your spine when he hugged you.

  
"Ah, don't worry. I'll have this sorted out and get you back home in no time." Tony smiled at you, then shook Bucky's hand. "Take care of her, or I will strangle you with your own intestines."

  
"Don't worry, short stuff, Bucky chuckled. "She'll be safe." The two of you walked Tony to the front door and watched him get back into the vehicle with David. He waved as they pulled out of the drive, and when you couldn't see the blue SUV anymore, you leaned into Bucky's chest and let yourself cry.

  
"It's okay, doll," he rubbed your back, holding you closely. "We'll get to go home."

  
"It's the only home I've ever had," you whimpered. "I don't want to live somewhere else..."

  
Bucky tipped up your head, kissing you gently. "(Y/N), they'll fix this. Then we can go back and everything will be alright again. Come on, let's get a fire started in here. It's cold. Then we'll have some supper."

  
"Alright." You smiled up at him, letting him brush your tears away with his thumbs. "Think Tony keeps anything good in here to eat?"

  
"We'll see," he shrugged as the two of you headed outside to get some firewood from the wood rack on the porch. "If not, we'll fire up that Jeep of us, go into town, and we'll get something. Maybe tomorrow we can go for a little hike and find us a Christmas tree? It's only a few days away."

  
"Oh, it is, isn't it?" You followed him back in with several pieces of wood. "I forgot about it, honestly. I never really celebrated it..."

  
"What?" He stared at you in shock. "Well, that settles it, doll. We'll have the best Christmas ever, just you and me." He kissed your cheek before finding some matches and kneeling in front of the fireplace. In a couple of minutes, he had a little fire going, and you meandered to the kitchen to scope out the food supply.

  
After finding some canned soup you went back to Bucky. He had the fire built up and added several large pieces of wood to the flames to keep it roaring. You decided to wait on the food, and the two of you snuggled up on the couch in front of the hearth, watching the flames dance around the wood.


	15. O, Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky keeps his word, and the two of you pick out the first real Christmas tree you've ever had. Decorations don't live in the forest, however, so Bucky takes it upon himself to make his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just fluff. Nothing but fluff. Because I am trash. Also, I imagined Bucky punching down a tree because that's something I would do.

"I'm totally taking a picture of this and sending it to the others," you giggled as you watched Bucky sitting cross-legged in the floor, putting together strips of red, green, and white paper to make a chain. "The infamous Winter Soldier, making paper chains to decorate a tree."

  
"Hey, paper can be dangerous," Bucky protested as he stuck his tongue out at you. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something constructive?"

  
"Nope," you shook your head as you looked at the picture you had taken of him with his tongue out, a coil of paper chains scattered all about him. "I don't know the first thing about decorating for Christmas."

  
"Then get your sexy ass down here and I'll teach you." He smiled, moving over the paper rings to make room for you beside him. You sat down, and he handed you thin strips of paper and the stapler. "You just make a little ring, then put a strip through, make it a ring, so on and so on."

  
"Wow, thank you, Professor Barnes." You started working on your paper chain, following Bucky's pattern. "You should write a book sometime. Your instructions are amazing."

  
"They are, aren't they?" He smiled and leaned over, kissing you on the cheek. "You're doing well enough, though."

  
"I'm a fast learner." You gave him a little jolt of sparks with your fingertips, grinning when he jumped.

  
"That was rude, doll," he chuckled, the hair on his right arm standing on end from the shock.

  
"It's not like I actually hurt you," you rolled your eyes.

  
"What about my feelings though?" He gasped, putting his hand over his heart.

  
"Oh no, whatever shall I do to correct this tragedy?"

  
"A kiss would work."

  
He flashed you that grin of his, the one that made you want to slap him and kiss him at the same time. You settled on the latter, giving him a quick peck on his lips.

  
"That didn't count," he pouted. "I wasn't even ready for it."

  
"For some super soldier assassin, you sure aren't very perceptive."

  
He deepened his pout, blue eyes looking up at you through his dark, thick lashes.

  
"Oh, fine," you huffed, and leaned forwards to give him another kiss.

  
Bucky's left hand caught the back of your neck and he pulled you into his lap, his right arm going around you as he kissed you back.

  
"I thought you said we were going to decorate the tree," you murmured against his lips.

  
"Mhmm," he hummed. "In just a minute..." He hugged you close to his chest, kissing you thoroughly, his hands sliding up your back underneath your sweater. You shivered at the cold touch of his metal fingers, your body instinctively squirming away which meant you pressed closer to Bucky.

  
After several minutes, he pulled back, wiggling his eyebrows at you, the both of you just slightly out of breath.

  
"Now we can finish decorating the tree." He set you back down on the floor, and resumed his work on his paper chain.

  
"You're an asshole sometimes, Barnes," you grumped as you started working on your own chain again.

  
"Only for you, doll."

  
"I'm touched."

  
"Not yet, you aren't." He smirked and gave you a wink.

  
"You're a dirty old man, you know that?" You glared playfully at him and he laughed. You worked in companionable silence, with only the click of the stapler and the crackle of the fireplace reaching your ears. Finally, you were done with the paper chains, and Bucky began wrapping them around the crooked little pine tree the two of you had picked out.

  
You smiled at the memory of when the two of you found it several hours ago, and had decided that it was perfect. Bucky had tried to cut it down with a saw he had found because he couldn't find an axe. The saw hadn't been working fast enough for his liking, and you giggled as you recalled him getting mad and just punching right through its trunk with his left hand. He'd drug it back to the cabin, grumbling the whole way about Tony being a cheapskate when it came to manual labor.

  
You handed him the little pine cones you'd decorated with silver and gold glitter that you had found stashed away in a closet. You made a mental note to question Tony about his extensive glitter collection once you talked to him again...

  
Finally, Bucky picked up the little angel he had made out of a pine bough and construction paper, and he secured it on the top of the tree. He stepped back, and the both of you admired your work together. The grandfather clock in the living room began to chime, and when all 12 chimes were finally over, Bucky glanced down at you with a smile.

  
"Merry Christmas, doll." He picked you up easily, kissing you as you wrapped your legs around his waist.

  
"Merry Christmas, Bucky." You hugged him tightly, nuzzling your face against his shoulder. "This is the best one I've ever had."

  
"It's just started," he laughed and you blushed.

  
"Yes, but I'm spending it with you."

  
He smiled softly at you, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in those laugh lines that you loved to see. He nuzzled his nose against yours, then carried you over to sit on the couch in front of the fire.

  
"And I'm glad that you are." He held you close, the two of you watching the flames. You looked over at your itty bitty, lopsided Christmas tree, with its handmade decorations, the jagged end of its trunk that made it unable to stand up straight, and you smiled. It was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. Bucky gave you a little squeeze, and you leaned your head against his shoulder.

  
"Love you, doll," he whispered into your hair as he rubbed circles on your arm with his thumb.

  
"Love you too, old man," you whispered back before settling your head in his lap and letting your eyes close.


	16. Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky are in the midst of having your own little celebration, when you get a call from a frantic Tony. The FBI is coming for you, the SWAT teams will be there within the hour. You have to run, and fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammit, all these damn cockblockers... Poor you and Bucky. I'm sorry. (No, no I'm not.)
> 
> SIDENOTE! I was listening to the soundtrack for Red Dead Redemption, and I have the sudden urge to do a Western AU with some of the Avengers folks. Probably a mystery/action sort of thing. Also, Cass would be in it (because she is an actual western person). Whatcha think? Actually, it doesn't even have to be that, I just really really wanna have Cass and Reader team up to save the Avengers and have a whole bunch of kickass scenes. Also, I want to do a Tony story... Any ideas? Suggestions? I need a good enough idea to make a decent plot.

A pair of lips ghosted across your forehead. Bucky was smiling at you when you cracked one eye open.

  
"Wakey wakey, sweetheart." He knelt on the bed beside you.

  
"But why?" You yawned as you stretched your arms above your head. You stretched your legs out next, letting out a soft groan when you were done.

  
"Because I like to look at your cute face." Bucky sat back on his heels, grinning broadly. You took a moment to admire his shirtless upper body.

  
"You can look at it when I'm sleeping," you pointed out as you rubbed your fingers over the place where his metal arm met his body, tracing over the scars.

  
"I'd rather do it when you're awake," he shrugged. "It's more fun to kiss you then." He flopped down on top of you without warning, and you gasped as the air was knocked out of you. Bucky began to kiss all over your face, nuzzling your cheeks with his stubbly jaw.

  
"Buck!" You giggled breathlessly, trying to squirm your way out of his arms, only to have him tighten his hold on you.

  
His lips curled into a grin against your skin, but he just kept on peppering your face with kisses. You squealed and bucked against him when he raked your throat with his stubble. Bucky's hands moved to your arms, and he pressed you down into the mattress suddenly.

  
"You keep squirming around like that," he whispered, "and I might want to play a different game."

  
"What if I want to play a different game?" You looked up at him. His nose was just an inch or two away from yours, and his blue eyes gazed down into yours. You placed your hands on his chest and pushed against him. "Why don't you take a seat?"

  
"Why?" Bucky arched up an eyebrow, but pulled away from you, resting on his knees again.

  
"Well, I kind of feel bad for not getting you a Christmas present, but I want to give you one anyways." You shoved him, making him tip over onto his back.

  
"You don't have to give me anything, doll," he caught himself on his elbows, watching you with interest.

  
"Oh, I think you'll like what I'm going to give you." Your hand rubbed up the inside of his thigh, giving him a wink.

  
Bucky grinned, suddenly realizing what you meant. You rubbed your hand over the crotch of his jeans, tracing a fingertip up and down the zipper, putting pressure on him through the rough fabric. His grin vanished, and he let out a soft groan.

  
You began kissing along his neck, nipping at his skin. You brushed your lips across his jaw, letting your teeth graze his skin. Meanwhile, you rolled your hips against his, feeling the bulge in his jeans grow harder. Finally, you began to work your way down, trailing kisses along his chest and abdomen.

  
He leaned up on his elbows again, watching intently as you unzipped his pants and worked them down his legs. You tugged down his boxers next and tossed them onto the floor.

  
Bucky's breath hitched in his throat, and he let out a strangled grunt as you rubbed your fingers slowly up his length. You lowered your head, tonguing at the precum that had began to gather on the tip of his cock. After a moment, you wrapped your lips around him, bobbing your head at a leisurely pace.

  
"Mm, fuck, doll..." Bucky sighed softly as he shifted his weight onto his right elbow, his cold metal hand tangling into your hair, holding it up away from your face so that it wouldn't get in the way of your mouth or his view.

  
You glanced up at him and smirked a bit before increasing the speed of your head. Your lips tightened, and you hollowed in your cheeks, focusing on the upper part of his cock. Then, you pulled back so that your lips were on the head. Taking a deep breath, you plunged back down until you had his cock down your throat.

  
"Oh shit, sweetheart!" He hissed between his teeth, unable to keep his hips still as he fought the urge to thrust himself in and out of your throat. His length twitched, and you choked a bit, your throat constricting around him. He groaned, and you began working your way up before going all the way back down. You took it slow and steady, not wanting to embarrass yourself by throwing up on his crotch or something.

  
"Bout to finish, sweetie," he warned with a groan. You merely glanced up at him and winked, acknowledging what he said. His hips bucked and you gagged in response before trying to swallow everything as he spilled down your throat. Finally, he pulled you up by your hair.

  
You were tackled backwards onto the bed, his lips pressing against yours. His hand slipped into your pants, and he shoved three fingers into you without warning, and you yelped in surprise. His thumb was on your clit, rolling over it and flicking at it. There was none of his usual teasing this time.

  
"Fuck me, doll, you're wet." He pulled back from kissing you, eyes dark and pupils blown wide. He watched your face as you moaned, his fingers mercilessly working you over. "Get that wet just from sucking me off, huh? Didn't know you liked it that much." He grinned as you whimpered in response. "Guess I need to let you blow me more often, huh?"

  
"Maybe so," you gasped out. You gripped his arm, moaning as you came on his fingers and hand.

  
"Or maybe we can just stay here in this cabin forever, and since we have no cable, we can just have sex all the time when we get bored." He smirked as he licked his fingers clean.

  
"Hell no, Barnes! I'm getting out of this frozen shit hole as soon as I can."

  
"Language, doll!" He laughed then kissed you as he began pulling your shirt and pajama pants off of you. "Come on, let's worry about getting out of here later. You already gave me my present, let me give you yours."

  
Bucky leaned over you, kissing you and grinding his hips against yours, his cock pressing teasingly against your slick folds. You held onto his shoulders, rocking your hips up into his. Just as he was about to ease into you, your phone began to ring. Both of you jumped; neither of you had been able to get good cell phone reception out here, so you had kind of forgotten about your phone. It was Tony's ringtone, and you grabbed it off the nightstand.

  
"Tony!" You cheered, overjoyed to finally be able to talk to him. "What's going on?"

  
Bucky scowled, leaning back on his heels while he crossed his arms over his chest. The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes... More like Earth's Worse Cockblockers. He huffed, then flopped down on his ass.

  
"(Y/N), what the hell, I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours!" Tony's voice was strained, and you frowned. That was odd...he wasn't like this.

  
"Tony, what's-"

  
"We don't have time for this!" You could hear the roar of an engine in the background. "Look the FBI is coming for you. The feds have named you a national threat, and they're coming to take you into custody or kill you. They've got their SWAT teams inbound on your position. I've been trying to reach you for hours."

  
"What- why-" You sat up, eyes wide, your face draining of its color. "But Tony, I haven't done anything, dammit!"

  
"I know, I know!" He swore at something. "Come on, dammit, Barton, get this thing in the air! (Y/N), honey, we're coming for you, alright? Run! You and Bucky get the hell out of there! We'll find you; I can track your phone, so keep it on you."

  
"A-alright, Tony. How long do we have?"

  
"My best guess? Maybe an hour before they start blowing down doors. Get the hell out of there! Get a storm going to cover your tracks, alright? There was a cave maybe three miles away from the cabin."

  
"Thanks, Tony. Please, hurry. I'll try to stay in touch if I can." You got up off the bed and began pulling out warm clothes.

  
"No, don't. Don't use your phone, they'll be able to pick it up. My technology is better, so I can trace it without it being used. Just put it on airplane mode, alright? Stay safe, both of you." Tony's end went dead and Bucky was looking at you questioningly.

  
"Bucky, we have to go," you were yanking on your jeans and a sweater. "Tony said the FBI has the SWAT heading our way. They're coming for me."

  
"Oh, Jesus!" He rolled off the bed and began pulling on his clothes. "Shit, I thought he said he would handle this!"

  
"I know he's been trying, James," you sat down on the bed as you started pulling on your boots. "But there's a lot of people who are pissed at me, and I'm sure they've been pushing for the government to do something."

  
"I never wanted to buck the U.S. government, but I'll do it to keep you safe." Bucky caught your hands after you pulled on a pair of gloves. "You know that right, doll?"

  
You smiled up at him, trying to keep your tears from spilling. "I know. But I don't want us to have to fight anybody. Let's just get out of here. We better take some food along, just in case." The two of you ran downstairs to the kitchen and began shoving bread, fruit, and other things that would last for a bit inside a backpack.

  
Bucky took the pack, slinging it over his shoulder while you grabbed some matches in case you needed a fire. Bucky grabbed your hand, and you both took off out into the snow. As you ran, you began making storm clouds gather. Extra snow would cover your tracks, and perhaps stall any aircraft that might be used to hunt you. Tony and Clint could handle flying in snow, you weren't too worried about them.

  
You had been trekking through the cold and slush for a good 20 minutes when, from the distance, you heard the sound of an explosion. They were breaching the cabin. Wordlessly, Bucky tugged you into a run once again. You hoped to any and everything holy that Tony would reach you before the SWAT did...


	17. Self Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky are taking refuge in a cave, waiting for Tony and Clint to come find you. The snow storm you conjured up seems to be keeping you safe, but after a while, things go from bad to worse, and you have to fight for your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some angst, some sad fluff... I'm sorry. But at least Tony found you now. You'll get to go back home.

Snow swirled thickly through the air; you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you, and even that wasn't much help. The sky had grown dark from the storm you had whipped up to cover your tracks. The wind tugged at your hair and clothes, and you clung to Bucky. In the distance, you could hear a chorus of barking and yapping, but you doubted that even their dogs could hunt you down.

  
"Stay close, doll." Bucky pulled you closer, his arm around your shoulders as he took the lead, guiding you through the blinding white of the blizzard. "Didn't Tony say there was a cave around here somewhere?"

  
"Y-yes," you answered, teeth chattering. You were cold, so cold, and tried to keep your scarf up to cover your mouth and nose.

  
"Hang in there, (Y/N). We'll get you out of this, I promise." He gave you a squeeze, then pushed on against the wind and snow. Finally, you caught a glimpse of something dark looming in front of you, just a foot or two from your face.

  
"This looks like the base of a mountain," you called over the roar of the storm.

  
"Yep, which means that cave is probably somewhere around here. I hope there's not a freaking bear or something in it," Bucky responded, keeping a hand on the craggy rock, feeling his way along.

  
You were shivering in earnest, hugging your arms tightly. The wind kept ripping your scarf away from your face, and it bit at your ears, cheeks, and nose, snow catching on your lashes and turning into bits of ice. Bucky's stubble was frosted with snow, and more was clinging to his long hair, but he wasn't about to worry you by letting you know that he was freezing his ass off. Your storm was the only thing keeping SWAT at bay, and he didn't want to risk your freedom just to be comfortable.

  
Finally, Bucky's hand landed in empty space. He moved a foot forwards, testing the space. Rock didn't meet the toe of his boot, so he stepped inside.

  
"Alright, doll, I think we found it!" He guided you along inside, out of the wind and cold. You managed to get a steady stream of sparks to come up from your numb fingertips, providing some light. You were indeed inside a cave. It stank, like animals and decay, but at least it was shelter.

  
"I hope Tony gets here soon," you whimpered, your body shaking violently from the cold.

  
"He'll find us. Until then, we need to get you warmed up. You brought matches right?" He began looking around the cave, finding a few pieces of dead wood, some old fur of some kind, and a birds' nest that looked like it had bits of eggshell stuck in it. He began piling them up, the nest and fur in a bundle with the wood propped up around it.

  
You dug through your bag until you found the matches, and handed them to him with a shaking hand. Bucky smiled warmly at you, then focused on getting a fire going. After a few matches, he got the tinder ignited. You moved closer to the tiny fire, watching as it spread over the scraps of the nest before beginning to lick at the dry wood.

  
"What are we going to do, Bucky?" You glanced up at him as you sat down by the little fire. "If Tony doesn't find us...what if they catch us? Catch me?"

  
"I won't let them have you," he stated simply as he got to his feet. "Rub your chest," he instructed. "Your arms will take care of themselves." He found one of the flares he had packed and used it as light to further explore the cave.

  
You watched him move, the flare glowing red in his hand. You rubbed your chest, trying to work on getting your body warm again. The fire had caught the logs and was now burning in earnest. You scooted closer, holding your hand over it to thaw out your fingers.

  
"Holy shit! What the fuck?!"

  
You scrambled to your feet and went running after Bucky. "Bucky? James! Where are you?" You followed a narrow passage, catching a gleam of red light. You ran right into Bucky's back, and gripped his arm as you peeked around him. Your stomach twisted.

  
You and Bucky hadn't been the only people to take refuge here, it seemed. There was a skeleton, bones brittle and frail. Some of the bones were missing, others were crushed. The cause of death was apparent; a rusty axe was lodged in the crumbling skull.

  
"How long has he been here...?" Bucky eased closer, crouching down to study the decades old crime scene. He gingerly picked up a cracked leather pouch. The leather fell apart, and he hissed in a breath as a fine trickle of gold dust fell through his fingers.

  
"Oh my God..." You stared in wonder, then inched over to look at the few other things that had belonged to this man, who you assumed was a miner or something of the like. "The gold rush! Back in the late 1890's! This man has been dead for over a century!"

  
"And I bet he was murdered by someone close to him...a partner, probably." Bucky eased his weight onto his heels, glancing up at you. "This is pretty neat. At least we found something cool in this shit hole."

  
"And it wasn't a bear," you smiled a bit at him. "Come on, it's cold in here. Let's go back to the fire."

  
You headed towards the narrow passage again. Bucky paused, looking around the little room. What was that man's name, he wondered. Did he leave behind a lover? A wife? Children? Or was he just a nobody, with no one to miss him. He chewed his lip for a moment, then followed after you. You sat together by the fire, Bucky pulling you into his lap and holding you tightly.

  
Outside, the storm still raged, snow swirling about the mouth of the cave. Every now and then, a gust of wind would whistle through the cave, making the flame of the fire dance. Bucky had found an entire stockpile of wood. It was old and crumbly, but it would work well enough to keep you warm until he could venture outside to find more.

  
"Do you think Tony and Clint will find us soon?" You rested your head on his shoulder, staring into the flames. Bucky kept his eyes averted from the fire; he knew how long it took for a person's eyes to readjust. Long enough for someone to die.

  
"I hope so, doll. Maybe they'll be here by morning and the SWAT will have given up by then. Maybe they'll think we got stranded in the snow and died." He knew better than to think that. They wouldn't give up...they wouldn't give up until they found the both of you and killed you.

  
The both of you stayed silent for several moments, relaxing in the warm little cave, listening to the storm rage outside and the crackling of the fire. Bucky sat up straight suddenly, body rigid as he listened. He paused, then yanked you down on the cage floor as something came singing over your head. A loud crack sounded, and your pulse jumped.

  
"Shit, how'd they find us?!" Bucky crawled across the cave on his belly. "Come on, (Y/N), we have to move! Let's get to the back room; they'll have to come in one at a time to reach us there!"  
You hurried after him, both of you slithering along the cave floor. You tried not to think about all the disgusting things you could be crawling through. He got up to his feet, pulling you up and along as he squeezed through the narrow passage.

  
"Alright, doll. We can't play nice now. Can you give me a little light?"

  
You conjured up a ball of sparks from your fingertips, lighting up the gloomy little room. The skeleton with the axe in his skull was providing you company once again. You couldn't look at him... Bucky reached inside his jacket and pulled his pistol from his shoulder holster.

  
"Bucky, no..." You put your hand on his arm, looking up at him. "We can't-"

  
"I'm not letting them take you!" He looked down at you, a wild look in his eyes. "I don't give a damn if they are the feds, they will not take you for something you didn't do! I told Stark I'd keep you safe, and to hell with it all, no one is taking you from me!" He leaned down, pressing a swift kiss to your lips.

  
You ran your fingertips over his stubbled jaw, pulling away to meet his gaze. "I know...but I'd rather turn myself in than risk you getting hurt."

  
"I've lost everything once before, doll..." He smiled sadly at you. "I'm not losing it all again. I'm getting you out of here, one way or another." He returned his attention to the passage opening, keeping himself pressed flat against the wall. You could hear boots approaching, and you felt your heart thud wildly.

  
Neither of you uttered a word, you barely dared to even breath. Then, there was a metallic thunk and something bounced across the ground. Bucky swore and punted the object back towards the passage opening while pulling you down to the floor, covering you with his body. An explosion shook the cave, and you heard rock crumbling.

  
Bucky was up on his feet before you could even think, opening fire as three men in full tactical gear came through the newly widened opening. His pistol spat fire and lead, and he lunged forwards into the fray to keep from getting shot, grappling with one gunman. You were on your knees, head still ringing from the explosion. The smell of gun smoke leeched into your nostrils.

  
You'd never been in full combat before, only secret, covert operations that were never that dangerous. Someone was charging for Bucky, kicking at him to get him away from their teammate so they could shoot him. Before you could think, you hit him with a blast of energy that sent him flying across the room. He hit the cave wall with a thud and slumped to the ground.

  
A wave of nausea washed over you, but you didn't have time to think about it. You kept up your assault, whipping up a veritable lightning storm as you fought to protect Bucky. He was back in action now, one of the SWAT member's shotguns in his hands. Guns barked all around you, echoing throughout the cave.

  
Red lights from their laser sights swung all around, and you lit up the cave with wave after wave of electricity, either killing or incapacitating anyone in your way. Bucky was right beside you, blasting away with his shotgun.

  
Then, as suddenly as it had began, it was over. You slumped to your knees, exhausted from using your powers so much. You crawled towards the cave entrance where the storm had finally stopped. Only snow drifted down from the sky. You made it out a few yards from the cave before you threw up.

  
Bucky was beside you, keeping your hair from getting into your face. He rubbed your back, muttering soothingly to you as you retched.

  
"Oh God, Buck-" You gasped for air, looking up at him with tears in your eyes. "I-I killed them- I-" You thought about the noise the first person had made when they hit the cave wall, and it was too much. You gagged, dry heaving as your stomach ran out of things to empty out onto the snow.

  
"(Y/N), doll..." Bucky didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say it was okay, because killing someone...it wasn't something to take lightly, even if you had been protecting yourself. "They tried to kill us, baby doll."

  
You sat back on your knees, sobbing into your hands. "I saw one of them- one of their faces! He was just a kid, Bucky! Barely older than me, and I- I killed him!"

  
"I know, doll, I know..." He lifted you up out of the snow, hugging you close as you cried into his chest. "It's never an easy thing. It never does get any easier. It shouldn't. Lets you know you still have a conscience."

  
"I am a monster, James," you cried, clinging onto his shirt. "I deserve to be taken and locked away, or even killed. I-I've been trying to prove that I'm innocent, but I'm not! Not anymore!"

  
"Don't talk like that, sweetie." He kissed your hair, rubbing your back. He rested his forehead against yours, tears pricking at his eyelids. He knew how you felt. Knew how all of this felt. How it felt to be a monster, to hate himself, to want to die, as if it would somehow atone for the lives he had taken. "It'll be alright. It'll all work out."

  
You kept crying. You didn't have words left to use. Bucky scooped you up into his arms, and carried you to the mouth of the cave. He didn't take you in where the bodies were. He sat down in the snow, rocking you in his arms.

  
After you ran out of tears to shed, you dozed off, whimpering in your sleep. Bucky stroked your hair, his pistol in his hand and his shotgun by his side. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he saw lights appear over the tree tops, shining through the snow. A moment later, a red and gold suit came darting through the snow.

 

"Come on, Frosty." Tony held out his arms, taking your sleeping body from Bucky's arms. "Let's get you guys out of here."


	18. The Missing Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally make it back home- back to the Avengers Tower. Everyone is happy to see you, but Thor has some bad news regarding Loki, and Clint and Natasha do some snooping, only to make a discovery pointing the finger at a certain demigod and his next target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUNNNN! We are getting ready to reach the end, folks! Le gasp! Maybe another couple of chapters or so? I dunno yet, we'll see how this pans out. ALSO! I still really wanna do a Tony fic. I still wanna do the badass rescue scene with reader and Cass, but I need a plot for a story. Any suggestions? I'm open to them.

When you woke up, you were in a quinjet. You sat up, trying to figure out what was going on and what had happened. Memories came flooding back. The young man's pale face, blood running from his cracked skull as he lay there on the cold cave floor... You shuddered and gagged. Someone moved to your side, rubbing your back.

  
"Hey, honey... It's alright. I told you we'd come for you." Tony sat down beside you, smiling softly.

  
"Is Bucky okay...?" You glanced up at him, eyes feeling swollen and sore from all the crying you had done earlier.

  
"Yep, he's fine. He's up in the cockpit with Clint." He put his arm around your shoulders and hugged you close. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get there before them, (Y/N)... I'm sorry. It's my fault, I should've been able to catch them sooner."

  
"Tony, no..." You shook your head as you let yourself relax against him. "It's not your fault. You've done everything you could do to help me."

  
"Except figure out what the hell is going on," he frowned. "We've tired, all of us. We can't get a single lead on who's been framing you. No prints, no DNA, no nothing. Just witnesses who describe you and recordings, but- I know you can't have done anything. Especially recently, you've been here."

  
"Wait, it happened again while I was gone?" You looked up at him. "What was it this time?"

  
"High school building... There was a fire," Tony answered, looking down at his feet. "Couple of kids didn't make it out in enough time. A few injured, but mostly everyone is okay."

  
"Jesus..." You let your head flop back against the side of the quinjet with a thud. "Fucking kids, Tony... This is getting-" You bent down, resting your head on your knees. "This is just getting worse and worse. What are we gonna do?"

  
"I'm going to find the son of a bitch responsible and tear him apart with my bare hands," Bucky announced as he came towards you. He crouched down in front of you, taking your face in his hands and smiling at you. "We'll fix this, doll. Don't worry."

  
"What about all those dead SWAT members?" Tears welled up in your eyes and you couldn't meet his gaze. "How are we going to fix that?"

  
"Lost out there, it won't really matter... Scavengers will take care of the bodies, I'm sure. I don't think anyone would be able to find them anyways." Tony sighed softly.

  
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Tony." You glanced over at him. "I feel awful, about all of this. I don't even deserve to have my innocence proven anymore."

  
"Shh." Bucky kissed you gently. "Don't talk like that. You acted out of self defense. It wasn't your fault."

  
"Get ready to land, folks!" Clint announced from the cockpit. "We're almost home!"

  
"At least I'll get to see everyone," you forced yourself to smile a little bit. "I missed them all."

  
"We missed you too," Tony ruffled your hair and stood up, going to join Clint.

  
"Everything will be fine, sweetheart." Bucky kissed your cheek and sat down beside you, hugging you tightly. "You'll see. It'll all be fine."

_

"(Y/N)!" Thor swept you up into a bear hug. You swore you felt a couple of ribs crack. Sam rescued you from his arms and hugged you.

  
"Don't squish her, Thor! I want a hug too!" He fluffed up your hair as he let you go.

  
"What about me?" Bucky huffed, pretending to be offended.

  
"I'm happy to see both of you," Steve chuckled and hugged both you and Bucky.

  
Natasha and Wanda hugged you next, and Pietro jumped into the fray, squeezing you tightly.

  
"Glad to have you back." Bruce smiled and gave you a friendly pat on the shoulder. "We missed you."

  
"I missed all of you too." You smiled back, feeling a little better now that you were surrounded by all of your favorite people once again. Everyone crowded around you, pestering you with questions, asking how Alaska had been. Pietro wanted to know if you had gotten to see a bear.

  
"Oh, Lady (Y/N)," Thor interrupted, his booming voice now somber. "I am afraid I have some...not good news."

  
Everyone paused, turning to look at the blond god. Bucky moved to your side, his hand slipping down to hold yours.

  
"Care to elaborate?" Tony arched up an eyebrow questioningly.

  
"It's about Loki. We all know how he had been rather angered by your presence, and now he-" Thor frowned, looking down at the floor. "He is gone."

  
"Gone?" Bucky snapped, eyes blazing. "What do you mean he's gone? He's your brother, dammit, Thor! You were supposed to be keeping him in line!"

  
Clint slipped away from the group, Natasha tagging along. They hurried down the hallway and went to the room Loki had been staying in.

  
"Wow." Clint arched up his eyebrows. "He didn't leave much of anything behind, did he?" Everything was just the way it had been before Loki had occupied the room.

  
"He has to have left something behind," Natasha began searching the room. "Anything...anything at all to give us some kind of clue."

  
The two spies swept the room, turning over every bit of furniture, studying the fibers of the generic looking rugs and curtains. Clint ran his fingers over the walls, eyes tracing every inch of the wallpaper. He paused, fingertips stopping as he felt the slightest change in texture.

  
"Over here, Tash!" He yanked the wallpaper away, and snatched up a scrap of paper. "This is the only thing here, but based on the pin holes in the wall, I'd bet he had his entire plan tacked up behind the wall.

  
"What's that?" Natasha moved over beside him, peering over to read the little bit of parchment. "It looks like some kind of schedule..."

  
"Oh, Christ! Look, this is every single date that all the attacks framing (Y/N) have taken place on!" Clint's eyes moved down the paper.

  
"They're all marked off, and this one is next." Nat pointed at the next thing on the list. "New Years Eve...when everyone is going to be gathered to wait for the ball to drop in Times Square."

  
"That's going to be a lot of people," Clint muttered. "That's where he's planning to attack next. Come on!" He ran from the room, Natasha hot on his heels as they hurried down the hallway. Thor wasn't going to like this, and they had a feeling you definitely wouldn't, but everyone needed to know. Loki had to be stopped.


	19. My Brother's Keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next attack Loki has planned will take place on New Years Eve at Times Square, but that's all the information you and the other Avengers can find. Sam and Tony decide to investigate Times Square to see if there are any further clues. As of now, however, your only option seems to be: wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably only gonna be on more chapter. It might be long though, so...yay? Also, I am working on a plot for the next fic. Reader will be with...idk yet. Kinda wanna do one with Tony. Unless you guys have any suggestions? Good ole Cass will be back in it, so there will definitely be puns. It might be kinda long, idk yet. Also, I am sorry it took forever for me to get a new chapter out. I am trash and I am sorry.

"For fuck's sake, Thor!" Tony paced the floor of the common room, running his fingers through his hair. "You expect to be king of Asgard and you can't even keep an eye on your little twerp of a brother?"

  
"Loki is far more dangerous than that and we all know it, Anthony," Thor growled, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the wall. "I apologize for not finding out what he was doing sooner, but his trickery and deceit knows no bounds. Father took away his powers, save for his ability to shape shift, it would seem."

  
"That's just fuckin' peachy, ain't it?" Bucky stood beside the chair where you were sitting, looming protectively over you. "He could be literally anywhere, disguised as another person, and we have no way of finding him!"

  
"I am aware of that, James!" Thor snapped back.

  
"Guys, come on..." You held your head in your hands, trying to think of what to do. "Attacking Thor isn't going to help us. None of this is his fault. He can't control his brother."  
"Can't he?" Clint was perched on the back of the couch, elbows on his knees.

  
"(Y/N) is right," Wanda chimed in. "We all know Thor wouldn't purposefully allow this to happen."

  
"No, of course not," the blond god shook his head. "We all love (Y/N), myself included. I would not intentionally allow anyone to harm her."

  
"Do we have any details on what it is he's planning?" Steve stood in the doorway, trying to veer the subject in a different direction to hopefully avoid any confrontation.

  
Natasha shrugged. "All we could find was...whatever schedule this is." She looked down at the paper scrap she still held in her hand. "It just has the date and location. Nothing else..." She turned the scrap over and over, studying every bit of it for anything she might have missed.

  
"Well, that's a start," Sam piped up. "At least we know when and where. Stark, do you think you and I could do a little fly by and check things out? Maybe he has things set up there already, or something that could give us a little more info."

  
"I could get a few motion sensors and surveillance cameras," Bruce offered. "You could plant them around the place and we can keep an eye out for him in case he shows up."

  
"That might not be a bad idea, Brucie," Tony relented with a sigh. "Alright, Fly Boy. Get your suit. We'll go do a few laps around Times Square."

  
"Sorry, Thor." Bucky scratched absentmindedly at his jaw. "We shouldn't have put the blame on you like that."

  
"No offense taken," Thor smiled, good natured as ever. "I understand that you are upset. We all are. I am most upset by my brother's actions. (Y/N) has done nothing to deserve him disparaging her good name."

  
"I did kind of foil his plans in Germany a while back," you smiled a bit. "I'm sure that was enough to put me in his book of people he hates."

  
"Perhaps so, but he should know by now that destroying people is not a proper behavior." Thor laughed and then came over to pat you on the shoulder. He knelt down in front of you, blue eyes earnestly holding your gaze. "When I said I would help you stop the person behind these attacks, I meant it. I still do. I shall help stop my brother."

  
"Thank you, Thor." You gave him a hug and then watched Tony and Sam leave to go get their suits.

  
"Come on, Barton." Natasha smacked the archer on the arm. "Let's go sweep his room some more, see if we might have passed anything up on accident the first time around."

  
"Maybe I can help?" Thor moved away from you, following the two spies. "If he has used something from Asgard to aid him in these endeavors, perhaps I might be of assistance." He trailed along behind them.

  
"We'll get him, (Y/N)," Steve smiled, giving your head a friendly pat as he walked by. Bucky smacked him on the arm and Steve punched him in the shoulder.

  
"Punk," Bucky grinned.

  
"Jerk." Steve smiled back, then continued on his way.

  
Wanda and Bruce went their separate ways, and Bucky sat down on the couch with you, pulling you into a hug.

  
"We're closing in on the little bastard," he whispered into your ear before nuzzling your cheek with his stubbled jaw, making you giggle. "And when we find him, I'm going to rip his arms and legs off with my bare hands."

  
"Bucky, I don't believe these are the sweet nothings girls want to have whispered in their ears," you glanced up at him and smiled. "But I suppose I'll take it from you."

  
"You know I only mean it in the best way." He chuckled and pulled you into his lap, kissing your neck and snuggling you closer. You rested your forehead against his, your arms going around his neck.

  
"Yeah, I know." You shut your eyes, finding comfort in his strong, familiar arms, and hoping that Loki's vendetta against you would soon be over.

  
"Everything will be fine, doll. I told you." He kissed you softly, arms tightening around you.

  
You kissed him back, taking your time as your lips moved against his. Bucky brought a hand up to your face, his fingers brushing over your cheek. You sighed against his lips, feeling perfectly at him in his arms, with his mouth pressed against yours.

  
Bucky's hands went to your hips, giving you a little squeeze and pulling you closer to him. He glanced up at you and winked before kissing you again, a little bit rougher this time.

  
Two could play at this game. You nipped at his lower lip and tugged it playfully. He yanked you down flush against his lap, his tongue tracing your lips and slipping in between them to glide over your teeth.

  
"Hey! None of that bullshit on my couch, you little nasties!" Tony threw a small, decorative pillow, hitting the both of you. He scowled at you when you turned to look at him. "Keep your fornicating behind closed doors."

  
"Yes, father," you rolled your eyes and laughed.

  
"Can it, Stark." Bucky grinned, but moved his hands away from your ass. "Don't you and Wilson have some scouting to do?"

  
"You could help us you know, Barnes." Tony lowered the visor of his helmet, crossing his arms as he waited for Sam.

  
"Someone has to stay here and keep an eye on things," Bucky shrugged. "Besides, folks still aren't real big on the idea of me being an Avenger, I don't think."

  
"Remind me to buy you a coloring book, huh?" Tony shook his head, then walked down the hallway as Sam appeared in his Falcon suit.

  
"See you guys later!" Sam waved, following Tony to his penthouse at the top of the tower so they could use the balcony to launch off of.

  
"Wanna defile Stark's couch?" Bucky glanced down at you after they had gone, wiggling his eyebrows.

  
"We'd better not," you laughed. "He has cameras up in this tower and I'd hate to make him need brain bleach."

  
"I guess I can spare him the trauma this one time..." Bucky sighed as he leaned back against the couch. He smiled at you. "I love you, doll."

  
"I love you too, James." You leaned down to rest against him, snuggling your face against his strong chest. He draped a blanket across you and put his arms around you, holding you close. You stared at the fabric of the couch, studying the little threads. Loki was going to do...something on New Years Eve. What it was, you didn't know, and your stomach churned anxiously.

  
January 1st felt too close and too far away at the same time. What if you couldn't stop him? You clung closer to Bucky, trying not to think about all the terrible possibilities that could happen if your effort to apprehend the vengeance-driven demigod failed. They weren't pretty...


	20. Final Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to meet Loki and take him on, head to head. He has to be stopped, no matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry... Pls don't hate me.

You finished pulling on your boots and zipped them up. This was it. It was New Year's Eve. You had one hour to find Loki and stop him before he achieved his plan- whatever the hell that happened to be. There had been no sign of him for the past couple of weeks. Bruce's motion sensors and cameras had proven wonderful at providing surveillance around Times Square, but you hadn't seen hide nor hair of him.

  
"(Y/N)?" Tony came into your room, gently closing the door behind him. He was already in his suit, his helmet tucked under one arm. "You alright?"

  
"Yeah," you nodded. "Just a little apprehensive about tonight, I guess."

  
"That's understandable. He is a dangerous man, and there's no telling what bullshit he's going go pull."

  
"What if I fail, Tony? What if we don't stop him and he kills more people? We don't know where he's going after this; we wouldn't be able to find him again." You moved to the window, staring out it at the city. "Look at them all down there...getting ready to celebrate the New Year. They have no idea what's about to happen."

  
"You won't fail, sweetheart." Tony put his arm around your shoulders, giving you a side hug. "We'll help you, don't worry."

  
"All of you?"

  
"All of us. We're gonna kick his ass, and then we're all going out for pizza, my treat."

  
You smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Tony. You've been a great friend through all of this."

  
"Hey, don't talk like this is the end of things," he chuckled. "This is just the beginning. We'll get everything sorted out, and then throw a big ass party to celebrate the newest official member of the Avengers: you."

  
"That sounds wonderful." You leaned your head against his shoulder.

  
"Stark? You trying to steal my girl?"

  
You turned around and rolled your eyes at Bucky. "Hey, James." You looked him up and down. Those pants of his really were magical. His thighs were nearly enough to distract you from the upcoming battle.

  
"Blue Bell, if I wanted to steal your girl, I could do it quite easily." Tony winked and then kissed you on the forehead. "I'll go get the others together. See you in a couple of minutes." He left the room and Bucky slipped up behind you, his arms going around your waist.

  
"It's almost all over, doll." He kissed your neck, nuzzling his face against you. "We'll stop that little bastard, for good this time. I know Thor won't let us kill him, but I've got a feeling he's going to haul his ass off and lock him up good and tight."

  
"He deserves worse, but for Thor's sake, I won't ask for his life." You turned to look back at him. "Can we take a little trip when this is all over? Just you and me?"

  
"I'd like that." Bucky smiled at you. "You need a good chance to relax. Besides...it'd give me more time to ravish you." He winked and you swatted at his arm.

  
"Bucky, you're a mess." You twisted around in his arms, tilting your head up and meeting his lips with yours.

  
"But I'm your mess." He smiled as he pulled back. "Come on, doll. We'd better go join the rest of the team. Let's get this over with, and then, we're going to celebrate however we want tonight."

  
He took your hand in his, walking with you as you went to the elevator. Neither of you said a word as you went all the way down to the first floor. The other Avengers were there, waiting at the front doors. They looked up when you came down the hall.

  
Pietro offered you his charming, boyish smile, and everyone else tried to smile, but it seemed a little forced. No one knew how things would end before the night was over.  
"Come, my friends." Thor swept one of the large glass doors open. "Let us finish this, once and for all."

  
One by one, each Avenger filed out the door. You went last, Bucky in front of you and still holding onto your hand. The streets were relatively quiet for now, since most everyone was out partying or gathered in Times Square. The entire team fanned out, forming a veritable wall as you walked down the sidewalk.

  
The few pedestrians that were around stopped and stared, some taking out their phones to get a picture of the Avengers, assembled and marching down the street in full strength. Tony and Sam took to the air after a few moments, flying ahead to assess the situation and get people to evacuate.

  
"Do you want us to face Loki with you?" Steve fell in beside you, glancing down at you, face obscured by his cowl. It looked odd on him, somehow. You'd come to think of him as Steve Rogers instead of Captain America. That was just his side job.

  
"I want to do it." You smiled at him. "Thank you though. I need to do this myself."

  
"Just give the word and we are with you," Wanda promised.

  
"I can go green at the drop of a hat if you need me to," Bruce reminded you.

  
"Thanks, guys. But it'll be fine." You squared your shoulders, walking straight ahead.

  
By the time the group arrived at Times Square, Tony and Sam had gotten most of the crowd to at least retreat. Sam came down to land in front of you.

  
"We can't get it through their heads that something bad's about to happen," he shook his head. "Most of 'em are too drunk to understand what we're telling them."

  
"Then we'll have to make especially sure that Loki doesn't succeed." You looked up, watching Tony on the tower where the ball was, all its lights shining as it waited to descend.

  
"I don't know when he did it, but there's charges set to blow all over the place," Tony spoke over the teams earpieces. "I'm working on a way to disarm them, but there's one main charge that can't be undone. It looks like they're all set to blow five seconds after the big one does, but it requires a detonator. I can't find a way to disarm it."

  
"Is it a weapon from your people?" Thor questioned.

  
"It looks like a mix of technology, honestly," Tony responded. "Get yourself up here, Thunderpants. If some of this is Asgardian, you'll probably know more about it than me."

  
"Did you guys catch all that?" Steve chuckled. "Stark just admitted that someone was smarter than him."

  
"About one thing, Spandex man, oh my God!" Tony huffed.

  
"We'll remember this, Stark," Natasha laughed.

  
"Hey, Sam," Clint moved towards him. "Get me somewhere with elevation. I want a good view of everything."

  
"Geez, you people need to learn to fly on your own." Sam rolled his eyes, grinning as he lifted Clint up into the air, taking him to perch on a balcony that allowed him a perfect view of the surroundings.

  
"Twenty minutes!" Pietro announced, eyes glued to the clock.

  
"I'm with you, doll." Bucky gave your arm a squeeze before pulling his M4 from his back. He lifted the stock to his shoulder, finger resting on the metal above the trigger.  
Steve had his shield on his arm, keeping it down at his side. Natasha's hand rested on her pistol, unsure of whether or not she should draw it yet. Pietro stretched a little bit, legs planted and ready to dash wherever he needed as soon as he saw Loki. Wanda had bits of red glowing at her fingertips, her eyes flitting around the surroundings. Bruce stood behind you, quiet and calm. You knew the Hulk would appear as soon as he was needed.

  
"This is partly Asgardian technology," Thor's voice came over the earpiece. "Part is of your world, but the rest...I do not recognize some of these designs."

  
"Neither do I," Tony relented with a sigh. "Well, as long as we get the detonator away from him, nothing will blow up."

  
"Oh, don't be so sure of that." A smooth, cold voice caused everyone to whip around. There, standing a top a parked taxi stood...you. "Things can always go wrong."

  
"Loki..." You took a slow step towards him, motioning for the others to stay where they were. "Loki, you need to stop this."

  
"But why? It's been so much fun posing as you, destroying your reputation, your hopes and dreams." The copy cat of you distorted, and Loki stood there in his true form. A collective gasp rose from the crowd of people behind you. "It's what you did to me after all. Isn't this fair?"

  
"No!" You shouted at him, fists clenching. "I never tried to wipe out an entire race! I didn't sull up and plot revenge because my daddy didn't love me! You think you're the only one with family issues?" You moved towards him, sparks dancing at your fingertips, electricity making your body buzz.

  
"Oh?" Loki smirked at you. "You think that was why I was going to destroy your pathetic race? My dear, please, your people were only a small piece in my plot to take over Asgard and rule it as my own."

  
"Then why do you want to kill me so badly? There were others who stood up to you. Why are you so focused on me?"

  
"Because you refused my authority in front of hundreds of people that day in Germany. Because simply looking at you enrages me. Because I can."

  
"I'm not letting you hurt these people, Loki," you growled. "I stopped you then. I can stop you now."

  
"Oh really?" Loki fished out a small object, a little red light blinking. "You know, I can go ahead and blow everyone here to oblivion. I don't have to wait until the 12th hour. That was just for theatrics."

  
Helicopters were flying overhead, more than likely news crews. Police sirens were wailing as squad cars surrounded the Square. You took a few more steps closer, letting the charges in your hands grow.

  
"You don't have to do this, Loki. Just give up now, things will be so much better for you if you do." You watched him closely, eyes glued to the hand that held the detonator.

  
Loki burst into cruel laughter. "I know I don't have to, you stupid bitch! I'm doing this because I can, because I want to, because it's fun. Why don't you give up? Go ahead and die and fulfill my purpose."

  
"I'd give myself to save these people." You were just a few yards away from him now.

  
"No!" Bucky was shouting at you, his voice making your ears ring. You glanced back to see Steve struggling to hold him. "(Y/N), no! Just let me kill the piece of shit!"

  
"Such violent friends you have," Loki tsked. "You should really keep better company."

  
"Like yourself?"

  
"Exactly." He smiled, a frigid, thin-lipped smile. "Surrendering now might not save everyone. It can't hurt their chances, however."

  
"So be it." You nodded and then, before he had a chance to react, you hit him with a bolt of lightning that sent him flying backwards. He hit a light pole, the metal snapping from the force of the impact. The detonator flew from his hand, skittering across the ground.

  
"You think I'd surrender to you?" You surged forwards, connecting a kick into Loki's jaw and knocking him onto his back as he tried to get to his feet. "I don't negotiate with terrorists, whether they be from this world or the fallen prince of another." You hit him with another blast, sparks flying up into the air.

  
"I don't negotiate either," Loki spat. "That's why my detonator was a decoy. You really think I'd give you a chance to meddle with my plan? That bomb will go off regardless of what you do."

  
You whipped your head around, looking at the detonator. Now, you could see it was the remote from a toy race car. Loki took advantage of your distraction and kicked you in the gut, sending you tumbling across the ground. He got up, drawing a knife from his boot.

  
"(Y/N)!" Tony called out for you, and you heard the sound of his thrusters as he launched himself off of the building. "Hang tight, I'm coming in with air support." A hit from his repulsors sent Loki back to the asphalt.

  
You got up, waving at the other Avengers as they rushed towards you. "No! Go! Get these people out of here! They have to leave, now!" They all nodded and turned around, running towards the crowd to make them disperse.

  
Bucky stood still for a moment, watching you with a fiery look in his eyes. You shook your head at him.

  
"Go, Bucky! They need your help!"

  
He blew you a kiss before running after Steve, helping get the small children and older people who couldn't move as fast away from the area. Thor landed in front of his brother as Loki tried to run.

  
"Really, brother?" Loki sneered. "You would take this mortal's side instead of defending your brother?"

  
"You know I will not harm Midgard, Loki," Thor glowered. "And this woman happens to be my friend."

  
"I'm your brother, you big, stupid oaf! Or have you forgotten that so easily?!"

  
"I have not, nor have I forgotten your treachery!" Thor knocked the knife from Loki's hand. Loki faked a punch, and when Thor went to block it, Loki kicked him in the groin.

  
"Now that was a cheap shot," Tony chided. "Even for you." He hit the god with another blast.

  
You had been working your way up to where the bomb was, climbing up the brick building. Three minutes left until 12...you looked the bomb over, trying to find some way to disarm it before it went off. Thunder rumbled overhead, and dry lightning crackled across the sky, static filling the air.

  
In your struggle with Loki, a storm had brewed up in response to your anger. After studying the bomb and taking a few bits off of it, you found some kind of fuse. You pulled it out.

  
"Hey, the other bombs are down!" Sam called. He had still been trying to disarm them. "(Y/N), you did it!"

  
"Not yet. We've still got the big one." The bomb started to make an odd humming noise, and you got to your feet. You would have to jump and hope that Sam or Tony would catch you. "Everyone, run! It's about-"

~

She never finished her sentence. The explosion shook the ground and buildings, the tower where the ball had been sent rubble flying everywhere, the top half of it crumbling away into nothing.

  
Bucky watched in silent horror as her body hurtled through the air, plummeting towards the ground. He ran as fast as he could, hoping against all things that he could make it there in time to catch her. A blur whooshed past him and (Y/N)'s body landed in Pietro's arms before she could hit the ground.

  
"Pietro!" Bucky caught up with him as the young man lowered her body to the ground.

  
"I'm sorry, my friend..." Pietro hung his head.

  
"No...oh God, no!" Bucky went to his knees, cradling her body. Tears fell from his eyes, pouring down his cheeks as the dust began to settle around them. Sobs racked his body, and he screamed as he pressed his face into her chest.

  
"Buck..." Steve touched his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry...so so sorry..."

  
Natasha and Wanda stood back, heads hung in silence. The Hulk stared at the limp body, his anger vanishing as he sank to his knees, Bruce coming back to take his place.

  
"No no no no no," Tony ripped off his helmet, falling onto his knees beside Bucky. "No... Not my little sunflower..." He bit his lip, his chin starting to quiver. He got to his feet, shoving his helmet back on before shooting into the air and flying away in a streak of red and gold.

  
Sam helped Clint down from his perch, and they moved to stand beside Pietro, all three of them silent and somber.

  
Tears leaked down Thor's cheeks, and then his eyes flashed. He turned to his brother who he gripped by the throat and punched him square in the face. "You bastard..." He called Mjolnir and held Loki securely before shooting up into the air.

  
Bucky got to his feet, cradling her body in his arms. He pressed a kiss to the pale, bloodied forehead, then handed over the body to Sam.

  
"Come on," Natasha touched Sam's arm. "We'll...we'll...I don't know..." She glanced up at him. "What do we do?"

  
"Let's just get her somewhere safe for now," Wanda spoke softly.

  
Bucky staggered aimlessly away from the Avengers, blinded by grief. He stumbled over rubble and fell onto his knees and hands, pushing himself up and continuing on his way.

  
"Buck?" Steve moved to follow him, but stopped when Clint touched his arm.

  
"Let him go," Clint murmured. "He'll find his way back. He needs time to grieve along right now."

  
They stood together, Clint and Steve, watching as Bucky disappeared into an alley, the darkness enveloping him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna throw me away, that's fine. You can. I deserve it.

**Author's Note:**

> Shitty title is shit. This is all shit. I'm shit. I swear too much. Fuck...


End file.
